August 28, 2009

Study finds high patient exposure to radiation

The Philadelphia Inquirer 08-27-09
Aug. 27--Every year, about four million Americans under age 65 undergo medical imaging procedures that bombard them with more radiation than the safety limit set for workers in the health-care and nuclear industries, a new study concludes.
The research is the latest to estimate the dangers of this country's exploding use of CT scans and other diagnostic imaging that involve radiation. The United States has the world's highest per-person imaging rate, and previous research suggests that up to 2 percent of cancers may be linked just to CT scanning.
"We don't want to scare patients or have them refuse necessary procedures," Reza Fazel, a cardiologist at Emory University in Atlanta who led the study, said in an interview. "The risk to an individual patient is very small with these doses. But when you apply a small risk to the entire population, it becomes a concern."
The study, published in today's New England Journal of Medicine, is accompanied by an editorial that calls for rigorous studies of the benefits of medical imaging -- and explicit warnings to patients about the risks.
Michael S. Lauer, a cardiologist at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, cited a study showing that the number of nuclear stress tests nearly tripled from 1993 to 2001.
Yet no large, controlled studies have shown that this barrage of imaging "prolongs life, improves quality of life, or reduces long-term medical costs," Lauer wrote.
There is no direct proof that radiation from medical imaging causes cancer. Instead, scientists estimate the risk by drawing on studies of atomic-bomb survivors and workers exposed to medical or nuclear radiation.
In the United States, those workers are carefully monitored to limit their risks. For example, they may wear special badges that absorb and track daily radiation exposure. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which oversees radiation use, restricts them to 100 millisieverts (mSv) every five years (20 mSv per year), with a maximum of 50 mSv in any one year. The sievert is a unit that reflects the biological effects of radiation, such as DNA damage.
What makes risk estimation so tricky is that radiation exposure has a cumulative effect, and organs such as the thyroid and breast are extra sensitive. Children are not only extra sensitive but also have decades longer for damaging effects to progress to cancer.
The new study used health-insurance data to see how many X-rays, CT scans, and nuclear-imaging tests were done on almost a million adults under age 64 in five cities across the country from 2005 through 2007.
Although most of them were exposed to less than 3 mSv per year, about 19,000 adults received 21 to 50 mSv per year, and almost 2,000 received more than 50 mSv.
Generalizing these finding to the whole population, the researchers found that 4 million Americans are being hit with more radiation than workers are allowed to get.
And no one -- least of all patients -- is keeping track.
William Muhr, a radiologist at South Jersey Radiology's nine outpatient clinics as well as in the ER of Virtua Health hospitals, described one troublesome scenario:
"A patient goes to the ER with chest pain. A cardiac CT scan shows he's OK. Six months later, the patient goes to another ER with chest pain, but doesn't say he already had a scan."
Compounding the problem, doctors rarely discuss the issue of radiation, and patients rarely ask about it.
"Radiation exposure is very tough to explain," said Ethan Halpern, vice chair of radiology research at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital "It may sound old-fashioned, but I think the doctor has to make the judgment."
But advances in technology have complicated that judgment call, especially for heart problems.
For decades, physicians relied on a nuclear heart scan, also called a nuclear stress test or myocardial perfusion imaging, to look for blocked arteries and damaged heart muscle. The test, which involves injecting a radioactive tracer into the patient's bloodstream, delivers an average 16 mSv of radiation -- close to the 20 mSv annual limit for occupational exposure.
Over the last five years, a newer scan, called cardiac CT or coronary angiography, has become common. Instead of taking a single X-ray, it takes dozens of X-ray "slices" that a computer combines into a three-dimensional image of the heart and blood vessels.
Cardiac CT has become the preferred scan for an emergency room patient with chest pain because it can rule out not only a heart attack, but also a deadly clot in the lungs, and a rip in the aorta, a main heart artery. The dose from a "triple rule-out" CT: at least as much as a nuclear scan.
And hospitals are just one source of hefty radiation doses. In the new study, most CT and nuclear scans were done in outpatient clinics.
Robert Steiner, a Temple University radiologist, serves on an expert committee that is now developing guidelines for appropriate use of cardiac-imaging technologies.
The problem is, the technology has evolved faster than studies supporting its use.
"We don't really know how successful any of these technologies are at prolonging life," Steiner said. "All of us are looking very closely at ways of cutting the dose."
So are machine manufacturers. They now tout radiation-reduction features, such as CT scanners that turn on and off in a heartbeat -- literally -- so the heart is imaged only when it is relatively still.
At Jefferson, Halpern also gives patients a drug that slows their heart rates during cardiac CT. This has improved image quality while cutting the radiation dose in half, to about 9 mSv.
Of course, insurers are also pushing to reduce the use of imaging, Halpern said: "And that's good. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry who walks into the ER with chest pain shouldn't be getting a CT."
http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=8678&Section=Disease

Soluble fibre may benefit IBS sufferers: Study

Nutraingredients.com, 28-Aug-2009

Adding soluble fibre to the diet may improve symptoms associated with irritable bowel syndrome, but insoluble fibre may worsen the effects, says a new study.
Sufferers of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) assigned to receive a soluble fibresupplement (psyllium) experienced a 90 point reduction in the severity of their symptoms, almost double the levels observed in the placebo group.
Reductions of 58 points in the severity of symptoms in the group assigned bran were noted, but this group experienced a high level of early drop-out following a worsening of IBS.
“In this randomised trial in primary care patients with irritable bowel syndrome,psyllium resulted in a significantly greater proportion of patients reporting adequate relief of symptoms compared with placebo supplementation,” wrote the researchers in the British Medical Journal.
The precise numbers of IBS suffers in the US are not known, as many people with mild symptoms do not consult a physician, but it is believed to be between 15 and 30 million.
The long-term condition, from which more women suffer than men, involves abdominal discomfort accompanied by diarrhoea or constipation. Although it is not life threatening and dose not lead to other, more serious health conditions, IBS is untreatable. At present, intervention involves management of symptoms.
Study details
Led by Dr C Bijkerk from the University Medical Center Utrecht, the researchers recruited 275 IBS sufferers aged between 18 and 65 and randomly assigned them to one of three groups: The first received daily supplements of soluble fibre (10 g psyllium), the second group received insoluble fibre (10 g bran), and the third group received placebo (10 g rice flour) for three months.
As the name suggests, soluble fibres can dissolve in water and are found in fruit and vegetable. On the other hand, insoluble fibres contain cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin and cannot be dissolved in water, and are commonly associated with cereals.
In Europe and Japan, soluble fibre has the greater market share than insoluble. In the US, where the entire fibre market was worth $192.8m (€151.0m) in 2004, insoluble fibre dominates the market with $176.2m (€138.0m), and $16.6m (€13.0m) soluble.
But while Frost and Sullivan predicts overall growth in the US to $470m (€369m) by 2011, the soluble fibre sector is expected to increase by almost twice the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) compared to insoluble fibre - 26.3 per cent compared to 13.1 per cent.
Only 64, 56, and 56 per cent of the participants of each group finished the study. Of these, the severity of IBS symptoms decreased by 90 points in the psyllium group, compared with 49 and 58 points in the placebo and bran groups, respectively.
The researcher did not note any differences between the groups with respect to their so-called ‘quality of life’.
Source: British Medical Journal 2009; Volume 339:b3154, Published 27 August 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b3154
"Soluble or insoluble fibre in irritable bowel syndrome in primary care? Randomised placebo controlled trial"
Authors: C.J. Bijkerk, N.J. de Wit, J.W.M. Muris, P.J. Whorwell, J.A. Knottnerus, A.W. Hoes
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Soluble-fibre-may-benefit-IBS-sufferers-Study

Rye for breakfast may boost feelings of fullness

Nutraingredients.com, 28-Aug-2009

Eating a high-fibre breakfast from rye may increase feelings of satiety and lead to reduced food intake later in the day, says a new study from Sweden.
While the effects of eating a fibre-rich diet are well documented in the literature, reports on how cereal fibre from rye may increase feelings of fullness are lacking, according to researchers from Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
Writing in the Nutrition Journal, the Swedish researchers report that consuming a rye breakfast suppressed appetite over the following 3 hours more than a wheat breakfast.
In addition, the strongest effect on satiety was achieved by rye bread formulated with rye bran.
The scientists collaborated with Swedish bakery cooperative Lantmännen R&D, which also financed and produced the test products.
“The levels of rye used in the breads were based on realistic amounts to create palatable, voluminous bread,” explained the researchers, led by Hanna Isaksson.
“The bread portion, together with additional breakfast foods, comprised what would be considered a normal breakfast meal. The amount of calories corresponded to recommended breakfast intake.”
Satiety is seen as a key target in the battle against obesity, with figures from Europe showing that up to 27 per cent of men, 38 per cent of women, and 3 million children are clinically obese in some parts of the bloc.
The retail market for weight management products was estimated by Euromonitor International to be worth US$0.93bn (€0.73) in Europe in 2005 and $3.93bn in the US, indicating that call to slim down or face the health consequences is being heeded by a slice of the overweight population at least.
Foods marketed for satiety enhance feelings of fullness after eating, acting as a boost to a person's will-power and helping them avoid a reversion to old habits in a bid to stave off hunger pangs, or 'grazing' in between meals.
Study details
The researchers investigated the effects of rye bread formulated with different quantities of rye dietary fibre. All the bread contained the same caloric values.
Sixteen volunteers (average age 35, average BMI 22 kg/m2) and assigned them to eat breads made from rye bran, an intermediate fraction, or sifted rye flour, and compared this to sifted wheat flour.
“Each of the rye breakfasts resulted in a suppressed appetite during the time period before lunch (08:30-12:00) compared with the wheat reference bread breakfast,” wrote the researchers.
“In the afternoon the effect from all three rye bread breakfasts could still be seen as a decreased hunger and desire to eat compared to the wheat reference bread breakfast,” they added.
A second experiment looking at the effects of different rye bran doses, providing 5 and 8 grams per breakfast, found that both levels of rye bran produced an“increased satiety before lunch, compared with the wheat reference bread breakfast”.
“The results show that rye bread can be used to decrease hunger feelings both before and after lunch when included in a breakfast meal,” said the researchers.“Rye bran induces a stronger effect on satiety than the other two rye fractions used when served in iso-caloric portions,” they concluded.
Scientists from contract research organisation KPL Good-Food-Practice AB also participated in the research.
Source: Nutrition Journal  2009, 8:39, doi:10.1186/1475-2891-8-39 “Effect of rye bread breakfasts on subjective hunger and satiety: a randomized controlled trial" Authors: Hanna Isaksson, H. Fredriksson, R. Andersson, J. Olsson, P. Aman
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Rye-for-breakfast-may-boost-feelings-of-fullness

Could wheat allergy play a role in diabetes development?

Foodnavigator-USA.com, 28-Aug-2009

An abnormal response to wheat proteins may tip a person’s delicately poised immune system into developing type-1 diabetes, suggests a study from Canada.
Writing in the journal Diabetes, researchers from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and the University of Ottawa report that almost half of the 42 type-1 diabetics tested in their study had an abnormal immune response to wheat proteins.
“The presence of an [immune response] to [wheat proteins] in a subset of patients indicates a diabetes-related inflammatory state in the gut immune tissues associated with defective oral tolerance and possibly gut barrier dysfunction,” wrote the researchers, led by Dr. Fraser Scott.
Type-1 diabetes occurs when people are not able to produce any insulin after the cells in the pancreas have been damaged, thought to be an autoimmune response. The immune system is thought to mistakenly attack the pancreas, the organ that regulates blood sugar. The disease is most common among people of European descent, with around two million Europeans and North Americans affected.
In addition, the incidence of the disease is on the rise at about three per cent per year, according to a study published last year in the Archives of Disease in Childhood. The number of new cases is estimated to rise 40 per cent between 2000 and 2010.
“The immune system has to find the perfect balance to defend the body against foreign invaders without hurting itself or over-reacting to the environment and this can be particularly challenging in the gut, where there is an abundance of food and bacteria,” said Dr Scott.
“Our research suggests that people with certain genes may be more likely to develop an over-reaction to wheat and possibly other foods in the gut and this may tip the balance with the immune system and make the body more likely to develop other immune problems, such as type-1 diabetes.”
With a growing number of people suffering from coeliac disease, the food industry is already producing more wheat-free foods, adding to the burgeoning ‘free-from’ market, which has been enjoying sales growth of over 300 per cent in the UK since 2000, according to market analyst Mintel.
Dr Scott and his team recruited 42 people with type 1 diabetes and found that immune cells called T cells from people with type-1 diabetes are also more likely to over-react to wheat. The research also reports that this over-reaction is linked to genes associated with type-1 diabetes.
In an accompanying editorial in the same journal, Dr Mikael Knip from the University of Helsinki, Finland said: “These observations add to the accumulating concept that the gut is an active player in the diabetes disease process.”
Benefits of wheat-free
Earlier results from animal studies by Dr Scott indicated that a wheat-free diet can reduce the risk of developing diabetes. However, the researcher stated that more research will be required to confirm the link and determine possible effects of diet changes in humans. Research is also needed to investigate links with coeliac disease, another autoimmune disease that has been linked to wheat.
Source: Diabetes August 2009, Volume 58, Pages 1789-1796, doi:10.2337/db08-1579 "Diabetes-Specific HLA-DR–Restricted Proinflammatory T-Cell Response to Wheat Polypeptides in Tissue Transglutaminase Antibody–Negative Patients With Type 1 Diabetes" Authors: M. Mojibian, H. Chakir, D.E. Lefebvre, J.A. Crookshank, B. Sonier, E. Keely, F.W. Scott
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Science-Nutrition/Could-wheat-allergy-play-a-role-in-diabetes-development

Researchers warn of toxin increase in heated HFCS

Foodnavigator-USA.com, 27-Aug-2009

The formation of a toxic substance when high fructose corn syrup is heated raises concerns for bee keepers, say researchers, and will help inform advice on safe storage of the ingredient for use in human food.
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a sweetener commonly used in food products. HFCS 42, containing 42 per cent fructose, is mostly used in bakery and confectionery products, which HFCS 55 (a mixture of HFCS 42 and 90) is commonly used in soft drinks.
It is also used in bee keeping to stimulate brood rearing in the spring and to increase honey production. Bees’ predilection for the sweetener was first observed when they were seen to swarm to spillages of the syrup around facilities and rail roads.
However the researcher from the USDA report in a new study that the heating of HFCS raises levels of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a toxin that causes gut ulceration and dysentery-like symptoms in bees. In humans it has been linked to DNA damage, and its daughter metabolites levulinic and formic acids have also been seen to cause harm.
"The data are important for commercial beekeepers, for manufacturers of HFCS, and for purposes of food storage. Because HFCS is incorporated as a sweetener in many processed foods, the data from this study are important for human health as well,” they wrote in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry.
Methodology
The researcher from the USDA reached their conclusion after measuring HMF levels in samples of HFCS over a 35 day time frame, at temperatures of 31.5, 40.0, 49.0 and 68.8ºc.
They saw that HMF levels increased steadily with temperature, and that there was a dramatic jump at 49 ºc. The chemical forms as the fructose dehydrates, with mineral and organic acids acting as catalysts.
The tests were conducted using five different commercial samples of HFCS 55 donated by Roquette, Mann Lake, Archer Daniels Midland and Tate & Lyle.
Implications
The researchers say that the data in their report should allow commercial users of HFCS to estimate the concentrations of HMF formed with time and temperature.
When it came to storing the material, the team found that conditions are crucial. At the outset HFCS 55 in a 203.5 litre drum had a level of 18 ppm HMF; within a year this had risen to 57 ppm at ambient, uncontrolled temperature.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission has a HMF limit of 40 ppm for honey sold for human consumption.
One way of limiting the formation of the chemical could be to neutralise the HFCS with inexpensive bases like lime, potash and soda ash then treating it with antifermenting agents – a logical approach since HCM formation is catalysed by acid.
However they added: “Although neutralising HFCS with commercial bases effectively reduces HMF, microbiological growth will become much more problematic, although these bases may be toxic to microbes.”
Source
Journal of Agriculture and Food Science 2009, 57, 736907376 Formation of hydroxymethylfurfural in domestic high fructose corn syrup and its toxicity to the honey bee (Apis mellifera) Authors: LeBlanc, B; Eggleston, G; Sammataro, D; Cornett, C; Dufault, R; Deeby, T; St Cyr, E.
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Science-Nutrition/Researchers-warn-of-toxin-increase-in-heated-HFCS

Care no better when insurance added to gov't plan
Last Updated: 2009-08-27 12:40:01 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - As the U.S. grapples with health care reform, a study out of South Korea suggests that private health insurance meant to bolster that country's universal healthcare system seems to have little effect on cancer patients' quality of care. However, such insurance did offer financial benefits.
Korea's entire population has been covered by public health insurance since 1989, but individuals still pay a large share of their medical expenses out-of-pocket. As of 2006, Koreans had co-payments of 20 percent for their inpatient care, and were covering one-third to one-half of their hospital outpatient expenses themselves.
In recent years, the government has been encouraging people to purchase supplemental health insurance from private companies to help fill the coverage gap.
But in the new study, researchers found that among cancer patients, the most vulnerable people -- including the elderly and lower-income individuals -- usually had no private insurance. And even among patients who did, there was no evidence that private coverage improved their care.
Instead, the benefits were financial, lead researcher Dr. Dong Wook Shin, of the National Cancer Center in Goyang, Korea, told Reuters Health in an email.
The "better-off" people who could afford supplemental private insurance, Shin said, got extra help paying their medical bills.
On the other hand, the availability of private supplemental insurance appears to offer no financial "safety net" for the people who need it the most, Shin's team reports in the journal BMC Health Services Research.
The study included 391 patients with stomach cancer, which until recently was the most common cancer among Koreans. Of these, half had private supplemental insurance at the time of diagnosis.
Shin's team found that patients with private coverage tended to be younger, more educated and earn higher incomes. More than two-thirds patients lacking private insurance were age 51 or older, while a similar percentage had less than a high school education.
When the researchers looked at patients' healthcare quality, there was no evidence that extra insurance made a difference. Patients with private insurance, as a group, were not diagnosed earlier or more likely to receive treatment according to standard guidelines.
They were, however, twice as likely as other patients to be able to pay their own medical bills, rather than depending on family members for help.
According to Shin, the findings suggest that supplementary private insurance is not a good replacement for adequate government funding of a universal healthcare system.
The researcher said that the results may offer a lesson to developing countries, such as China, that are considering universal healthcare plans -- where the temptation may be great to limit government financing and rely partially on private supplemental insurance.
SOURCE: BMC Health Services Research, online July 31, 2009.
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/08/27/eline/links/20090827elin006.html

Many health workers won't take swine flu vaccine
Last Updated: 2009-08-27 13:19:43 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Even though testing has so far raised no "red flags" regarding safety of potential swine flu vaccines, surveys and focus groups show that healthcare workers and members of the public may be leery of being getting shots when supplies become available this fall.
Writing in the BMJ, Dr. Paul K. S. Chan and associates at the Chinese University of Hong Kong note that "in nearly all countries with a (pandemic) preparedness plan, healthcare workers are listed as the priority group for mass vaccination."
In May of this year when the WHO alert level had been raised to phase 5, meaning a pandemic was imminent, researchers distributed 810 questionnaires to public hospital workers, primarily doctors and nurses in Hong Kong. (The level was later raised to phase 6, pandemic.)
Less than half (48%) of the 389 workers who returned the questionnaires intended to accept pre-pandemic H1N1 vaccination. The most common reason for refusal was potential side effects, followed by questions about the vaccine's efficacy and the conviction that it was "not yet the right time to be vaccinated."
"This is particularly surprising in a city where the SARS outbreak had such a huge impact," Dr. Chan's team points out.
Those with a history of seasonal flu vaccination were more likely to be willing to be vaccinated.
In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Rachel Jordan, from the University of Birmingham, and Dr. Andrew Hayward, from the University College of London, write that to increase vaccine use, "use of convenient mobile systems, monitoring and feedback systems, and 'opt-out' systems (where healthcare workers need to indicate their reasons for not accepting the vaccine) show promise."
In a separate article published online in the Emerging Health Threats Journal, very few of 85 focus group participants in British Columbia said they would be willing to be vaccinated in the event of a pandemic. Very few people said they or their children would definitely get vaccinated, the authors report.
Many participants were concerned about the risk of infection versus the risks involved in using newly developed vaccines, write Dr. Natalie Henrich of the University of British Columbia and Dr. Bev J. Holmes at Simon Fraser University, both in Vancouver. "Participants were hesitant to use the novel vaccines (due to) concern that unsafe pharmaceuticals may be rushed to market during the health crisis," the authors said.
The focus groups were conducted before the current H1N1 pandemic, in 2006 and 2007.
Instead, many individuals believed they could protect themselves through their own behavior, including frequent handwashing, staying away from crowded places and sick people, and eating well to maintain their immune systems.
SOURCES: BMJ August 25, 2009; Emerging Health Threats Journal 2009.
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/08/27/eline/links/20090827elin025.html

Nitrous Oxide Now Top Ozone-depleting Emission

ScienceDaily (Aug. 27, 2009) — Nitrous oxide has now become the largest ozone-depleting substance emitted through human activities, and is expected to remain the largest throughout the 21st century, NOAA scientists say in a new study.
For the first time, this study has evaluated nitrous oxide emissions from human activities in terms of their potential impact on Earth's ozone layer. As chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which have been phased out by international agreement, ebb in the atmosphere, nitrous oxide will remain a significant ozone-destroyer, the study found. Today, nitrous oxide emissions from human activities are more than twice as high as the next leading ozone-depleting gas.
Nitrous oxide is emitted from natural sources and as a byproduct of agricultural fertilization and other industrial processes. Calculating the effect on the ozone layer now and in the future, NOAA researchers found that emissions of nitrous oxide from human activities erode the ozone layer and will continue to do so for many decades.
The study, authored by A.R. Ravishankara, J.S. Daniel and Robert W. Portmann of the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) chemical sciences division, appears online today in the journal Science. ESRL tracks the thickness of the ozone layer, as well as the burden of ozone-depleting compounds in the atmosphere. It maintains a large portion of the world air sampling and measurement network. NOAA scientists also conduct fundamental studies of the atmosphere and atmospheric processes to improve understanding of ozone depletion and of the potential for recovery the ozone layer.
"The dramatic reduction in CFCs over the last 20 years is an environmental success story. But manmade nitrous oxide is now the elephant in the room among ozone-depleting substances," said Ravishankara, lead author of the study and director of the ESRL Chemical Sciences Division in Boulder, Colo.
The ozone layer serves to shield plants, animals and people from excessive ultraviolet light from the sun. Thinning of the ozone layer allows more ultraviolet light to reach the Earth's surface where it can damage crops and aquatic life and harm human health.
Though the role of nitrous oxide in ozone depletion has been known for several decades, the new study is the first to explicitly calculate that role using the same measures that have been applied to CFCs, halons and other chlorine- and bromine-containing ozone-depleting substances.
With CFCs and certain other ozone-depleting gases coming in check as a result of the 1987 Montreal Protocol, the international treaty that phased out ozone-destroying compounds, manmade nitrous oxide is becoming an increasingly larger fraction of the emissions of ozone-depleting substances. Nitrous oxide is not regulated by the Montreal Protocol.
Nitrous oxide is also a greenhouse gas, so reducing its emission from manmade sources would be good for both the ozone layer and climate, the scientists said.
In addition to soil fertilization, nitrous oxide is emitted from livestock manure, sewage treatment, combustion and certain other industrial processes. Dentists use it as a sedative (so-called "laughing gas"). In nature, bacteria in soil and the oceans break down nitrogen-containing compounds, releasing nitrous oxide. About one-third of global nitrous oxide emissions are from human activities. Nitrous oxide, like CFCs, is stable when emitted at ground level, but breaks down when it reaches the stratosphere to form other gases, called nitrogen oxides, that trigger ozone-destroying reactions.
NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090827141344.htm

10- And 11-year-olds Feel Pressure To Have A Perfect Body

ScienceDaily (Aug. 28, 2009) — A study of 4254 Canadian schoolchildren has shown a direct association between BMI and satisfaction with their body shape. The research, published in the open access journal BMC Public Health, shows a linear response for girls, who were happiest when thinnest, and a U-shaped response for boys, who were unhappy when they were too skinny or too fat.
Bryn Austin worked a team of researchers from Harvard University and the University of Alberta, Canada, to investigate the relationship between size and body satisfaction, as well as the effects of rural/urban residence, parental education and income, and neighborhood household income. She said, "There is a well-established relationship between poor body satisfaction and increased risk of disordered weight control behaviors, including vomiting, fasting, and use of laxatives and diet pills for weight control. Importantly, body satisfaction appears to be responsive to school-based interventions. To increase our understanding of body satisfaction and its links with BMI in childhood, we studied the prevalence of poor body satisfaction in prepubescent girls and boys, and its association with body weight and socioeconomic factors".
The researchers measured the height and weight of the 10-11 year old children and asked them to indicate how much they agree with the statement, "I like the way I look". Overall, 7.3% of girls and 7.8% of boys reported poor body satisfaction. For normal weight, overweight and obese girls the prevalence of poor body satisfaction was 5.7%, 10.4% and 13.1%, respectively. For boys this was 7.6%, 8.4%, and 8.1%, respectively. Girls from parents with low educational attainment and residing in rural areas were more likely to report poor body satisfaction.
Speaking about the results, Austin said, "Poor body satisfaction among males with a low BMI may reflect the cultural ideal for males to attain both muscularity and leanness; whereas, among females, thinness remains the culturally defined ideal body shape. Our finding that girls who reside in rural areas, controlling for BMI, are more likely to report poor body satisfaction suggests that appearance-related pressures may be higher within rural areas, or perhaps that girls in urban areas benefit from existing programs that may protect against decrements in body satisfaction".
S. Bryn Austin, Jess Haines and Paul J. Veugelers. Body satisfaction and body weight: gender differences and sociodemographic determinants. BMC Public Health, 2009
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090826191843.htm

Fasting extends reproductive life span

TIMES OF INDIA 28 August 2009
Scientists have long asserted that females are born with their entire lifetime's supply of eggs, and once they're gone, they're gone. However, a new study suggests that in case of nematode worms, this does not hold true. 

The findings by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have been published online Aug. 27 in Science. 

According to molecular physiologist Marc Van Gilst, Ph.D., and colleagues, during starvation, sexually mature adult worms stop ovulating and the germline component of their reproductive system - the sex cells, including mature and maturing eggs - dies off and leaves behind nothing but a few stem cells. However, once normal food conditions resume, the conserved stem cells can produce a brand new crop of sex cells, complete with youthful and fertile eggs. This turning back of the reproductive clock all takes place in tiny C. elegans soil worms that are up to15 times older than normally fed worms in their reproductive prime. 

"For many, it has been assumed that cells and organs remain relatively stable during periods of starvation or caloric restriction," said Van Gilst, an assistant member of the Hutchinson Center's Basic Sciences Division, who authored the study with postdoctoral research fellow Giana Angelo, Ph.D. 

"The idea that an entire system would kill itself off during starvation and then regenerate upon food restoration was very surprising. The fact that extremely old worms could generate new eggs and produce healthy offspring long after their normally fed counterparts had reproduced and died was also unexpected," he said. 

The mechanism behind the preservation and extension of fertility long past the worms'' normal reproductive prime, Van Gilst suspects, is a signaling receptor protein in the cell nucleus called NHR-49, which promotes a major metabolic response to dietary restriction and fasting. 

While it has been hypothesized that this protein may interface with calorie restriction to extend life span, until now its role in protecting and extending reproductive longevity in the face of starvation had not been known. 
"In worms that contained an inactive NHR-49 gene, reproductive recovery and fertility after starvation were severely impaired. We found that reproductive arrest and recovery are highly dependent on a functioning NHR-49 gene," he said. 

NHR-49 in worms is analogous to various proteins in humans, all of which belong to a family of proteins called nuclear receptors. Nuclear receptors, such as estrogen receptors and androgen receptors, are particularly good targets for pharmaceutical intervention. 

"The identification of a nuclear receptor that turns on and off the beneficial response to nutrient deprivation would be of great interest because it would be a candidate for drugs aimed at tricking the body, or specifically the reproductive system, into thinking they are calorically restricted or starved, even when food intake is normal," Van Gilst said. 

The biomedical implications of model organisms such as flies and worms cannot be overlooked, he said. 
"Many paradigm-shifting discoveries in C. elegans have since been replicated in humans. Therefore, the idea that our findings will be relevant to human reproduction is a possibility that certainly needs exploration," he said. 
However, Van Gilst is quick to point out that even if this mechanism is conserved in humans, it is still unknown what degree of caloric restriction would be required to impact egg production in humans. 

"If such a process exists in humans, it likely evolved to help our ancestors preserve fertility during periods of famine or food shortage. We certainly don't have a prescription for famine. Consequently, our study should not be used to promote potentially dangerous interventions such as severe caloric restriction and starvation as a means to restore a woman's fertility," he said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/LIFE-STYLE/Health-Fitness/Health/Fasting-extends-reproductive-life-span/articleshow/4943858.cms

Vitamin C Boosts Life Expectancy and Removes Plaque from Blood Vessels

Melanie Grimes, NaturalNews.com  August 27, 2009

(NaturalNews) A high intake of vitamin C is shown to improve life expectancy by six years. Not only does vitamin C help prevent the diseases that shorten life, but the vitamin itself has life sustaining properties. Vitamin C is known to help prevent heart attacks and strokes. It repairs blood vessels and helps reduce heart disease, which are the leading causes of death in the United States.

The vitamin C intake of more than eleven thousand Americans, aged of 25 to 74, was studied from 1971 to 1974. Then the participants were followed for another ten years. Those with the higher levels of serum (bloodstream) vitamin C lived longer. With only 300 mg a day, heart disease was reduced by 50 percent in men and about 40 percent in women. Those with higher levels of vitamin C in their blood lived six years longer than their counterparts.

With even higher doses of vitamin C, researchers found that plaque was removed from artery walls, thereby reducing further risk from heart attacks. Doses of 1,500 were found to be effective. Studies with guinea pigs showed that a five week regime of 5,000 mg per day prevented plaque build-up, while only 60 mg a day did not prevent the damage to blood vessels. The doses used to remove plaque have been found to be 1,500 a day for one year.

The mechanism that is used by vitamin C is via the production of collagen. Vitamin C has the effect of increasing collagen production, and collagen is important in maintaining the cell wall of the circulatory system: veins, arteries and capillaries.
The minimum daily dose may be sufficient for some, but to repair damage and restore health, larger doses are needed. Many health advocates recommend doses of 1,000 to 3,000 per day, spread out during the day. Pregnant women can double these amounts of vitamin C.

Side effects from vitamin C are rare, but a deficiency can cause gingivitis, bleeding gums, nosebleeds, swollen joints, anemia, and weight gain due to a slowing of the metabolism.

Vitamin C is water-soluble and leaves the body in urine, which is why dosing is recommended at frequent intervals throughout the day. It is preferable to obtain vitamin C from foods. Sources of vitamin C are fruits and vegetables, especially citrus fruits, along with green peppers, leafy greens, broccoli, tomatoes, strawberries, white potatoes, winter squash, berries, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower.
http://www.naturalnews.com/026919_vitamin_C_blood_life_expectancy.html

Millions in Nepal facing hunger as climate changes

The Associated Press Fri, Aug. 28, 2009
KATMANDU, Nepal - Millions of people in Nepal face severe food shortages because global climate change has disrupted weather patterns and slashed crop yields in the Himalayan nation, an international aid agency warned Friday.
Changing weather patterns have dramatically affected crop production in Nepal, leaving farmers unable to properly feed themselves and pushing them into debt, Oxfam International said in a report released in Katmandu.
The British aid agency described the situation as "deeply worrying."
"Communities told us crop production is roughly half that of previous years ... Last year many could only grow enough (food) for one month's consumption," said Oxfam's Wayne Gum, adding that less precipitation has been forecast this winter, which will make the situation worse.
More extreme temperatures, drier winters and delays in summer monsoons have all compounded the situation, the report said.
More than 3.4 million people in Nepal are estimated to require food assistance, and food stocks in farming communities will last only a few months, it warned.
Oxfam said Nepal will likely suffer more frequent droughts because of climate change. River levels will decline due to the reduced rainfall and glacial retreat, making it harder to irrigate crops and provide water for livestock.
"The predicted impacts of climate change will heighten existing vulnerabilities, inequalities and exposure to hazards," the report said.
Oxfam recommended in its report that the government and international organizations intervene to ease food shortages in hill and mountain districts and provide assistance during the upcoming planting season.
The government should encourage farmers to try new crop varieties and improve water management, and it should integrate climate change strategies into government planning.
Ang Dawa, a member of a parliamentary committee tackling climate change, said its effects were already prevalent in Nepal, especially in the mountainous north.
She said her village in the foothills of Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain, was covered in several feet (dozens of centimeters) of snow during the winter when she was a child, but now there is hardly any snow.
http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/world/20090828_ap_millionsinnepalfacinghungerasclimatechanges.html

Review associates omega-3 supplementation with reduced cardiovascular deaths over up to 4.6 years of follow-up

Life Extensions, August 26, 2009
The July, 2009 issue of the journal Clinical Cardiology published the results of a meta-analysis which linked omega-3 supplementation with a lower risk of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events as well as lower mortality from all causes over the duration of 11 studies.
Paul E Marik, MD, of Thomas Jefferson university in Philadelphia and Joseph Varon, MD of the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston sought to determine whether supplementation with the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) for at least a year reduces cardiovascular events in both patients at high risk of cardiovascular death and those at moderate risk. High risk patients were defined as having been recently diagnosed with heart attack or heart failure, or receiving an implanted defibrillator, and those at moderate risk had stable atherosclerotic disease or high cholesterol.
Drs Marik and Varon selected 11 studies including a total of 39,044 patients for their review. The combined dose of EPA and DHA in the trials averaged 1.8 grams per day, and the trials last an average of 2.2 years. Over follow-up, supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids was associated with a 13 percent lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease as well as a 13 percent reduction in the risk of sudden cardiac death, an 8 percent reduction in mortality from all causes, and an 8 percent lower risk of nonfatal cardiovascular events compared with the risks experienced by those who received a placebo. The reductions in mortality were mainly observed in studies that enrolled high risk patients, and the decrease in nonfatal cardiovascular events primarily occurred in moderate risk patients.
"Dietary supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids should be considered in the secondary prevention of cardiovascular events," the authors conclude.
http://www.lef.org/whatshot/2009_08.htm#review-associates-omega-3-supplementation-with-reduced-cardiovascular-deaths-over-up-to-4-6-years-of-follow-up

Happiness is next to healthiness for women

Tampa Tribune, Fla. 08-26-09
Aug. 25--Researchers have a new remedy for women who want to stave off heart disease: Take a dose of optimism.
More specifically, a new study of more than 97,000 post-menopausal women found that those with positive attitudes had a lower risk of developing heart disease than their pessimistic counterparts.
Their risk of developing heart disease was 9 percent lower, and the risk of dying from any cause was 14 percent lower for optimists, according to the review in "Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association."
"The majority of evidence suggests that sustained, high degrees of negativity are hazardous to health." wrote Hilary A. Tindle, lead author of the study and assistant medical professor at the University of Pittsburgh.
Wesley Chapel resident Janice Makar says she's living proof of the healing power of a positive attitude. She discovered during a routine checkup eight years ago that the main artery to her heart was 99 percent blocked. The then 36-year-old's plans to start a new workout regimen were quickly replaced by emergency bypass surgery.
"It happened so fast," she says, "I didn't have time to think 'whoa is me.' "
Instead she saw the scare as a challenge to improve her health. If doctors suggested she try to walk a mile, she walked two. Makar changed her eating and exercise behaviors, and at 44, she says she is healthier than ever.
"I didn't let the disease get to me," she says.
The University of Pittsburgh attitude study looked at females, ages 50 to 79, who participated in the national Women's Health Initiative and were free of cardiovascular disease and cancer at the study's start.
It tracked participant health patterns for more than eight years. It measured optimism and cynical hostility by the way the women answered questions such as "In unclear times, I usually expect the best," and "If something can go wrong for me, it will."
Results showed that optimists were less likely to develop risk factors such as: diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, depressive symptoms, smoking or being sedentary.
While issues such as genetics and diet play a role in a woman's chance for heart disease, researchers believe attitude does play a significant role.
"This study is a very reasonable stepping stone to future research in this area â€Ââ€? both on potential mechanisms of how attitudes may affect health, and for randomized controlled trials to examine if attitudes can be changed to improve health," Tindle wrote.
Makar is convinced her attitude is part of why she's well today, and she recalls a pessimistic relative who felt their heart disease was just a sign "they were getting to the grave faster."
That person is no longer living. Makar, however, was recently able to serve as a bone marrow donor for her 50-year-old sister. Had she not recovered and looked on the bright side, she wouldn't have been able to help, she says.
Anyone can benefit from optimism, Makar says. "Even if your body isn't 100 percent, if you're positive, you're at peace."
http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=8677&Section=Disease

Obesity increases Alzheimer's risk

United Press International  08-26-09
LOS ANGELES, Aug 25, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Being overweight or obese can result in brain shrinkage and an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, U.S. researchers said.
Study senior author Paul Thompson of the University of California, Los Angeles and Cyrus A. Raji, a medical student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and colleagues compared the brains of people who were obese, overweight, and of normal weight.
The study, published in the journal Human Brain Mapping, found obese people had 8 percent less brain tissue than people with normal weight, while overweight people had 4 percent less tissue.
"That's a big loss of tissue and it depletes your cognitive reserves, putting you at much greater risk of Alzheimer's and other diseases that attack the brain," Thompson said in a statement.
"But you can greatly reduce your risk for Alzheimer's, if you can eat healthily and keep your weight under control."
The study also found people defined as obese had lost brain tissue in the frontal and temporal lobes, areas of the brain critical for planning and memory and in parts of the brain involving attention and executive functions, long term memory and movement.
http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=8675&Section=Nutrition

Vine root extract has heart health supplement potential: Study

Nutraingredients.com, 27-Aug-2009

Extracts from the roots of a vine that has overgrown almost 10 million acres in the southeastern United States may improve heart health, says a new study from the US.
Rats supplemented with extracts from the root of the kudzu plant experienced reductions in cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, and insulin levels, according to results published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Scientists in Alabama and Iowa suggest that the extract may play a role in the prevention or improvement of symptoms related to the metabolic syndrome, a condition characterised by central obesity, hypertension, and disturbed glucose and insulin metabolism. The syndrome has been linked to increased risks of both type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). In the US alone, about 50 million people are affected by the metabolic syndrome.
According to the researchers, led by J. Michael Wyss, kudzu root extracts have recently become available in Western dietary supplements marketed primarily for women’s health.
“Although the exact mechanisms remain to be determined, the present results suggest that incorporation of kudzu root supplements into a diet modulates glucose, lipids, and blood pressure,” wrote the researchers, led by J. Michael Wyss.
“Because the supplement appears to have no adverse or toxic effects at these dietary levels in rats, it may be useful to consider the use of kudzu polyphenols as complements to strategies used to reduce metabolic disorders.”
Dr Wyss and his co-workers used stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats as a model for the metabolic syndrome. The animals were initially fed for two months on a polyphenol-free diet, and then randomly assigned to a standard diet or the standard diet supplemented with 0.2 per cent kudzu root extract.
Two months later the researchers noted that the kudzu root fed animals had arterial blood pressure between 11 and 15 mmHg lower than the control animals, total cholesterol levels about 50 per cent lower, and fasting blood glucose between 20 and 30 per cent lower than the control animals.
New findings
“This is the first report investigating the potential for long-term kudzu supplementation to decrease these interacting factors of the metabolic syndromein an animal model,” stated the researchers.
Commenting on the potential mechanism, Dr Wyss and his co-workers proposed that kudzu root extract may regulate plasma glucose by affecting the expression of glucose transporters in the intestine, such as SGLT-1 and GLUT-2.
Another possible mechanism may involve the polyphenols and isoflavones in the kudzu, which could activate PPAR-gamma, a hormone receptor which reportedly plays a key role in the control of expression and differentiation of genes associated with fat cells.
“We suggest that individual phenolic compounds in kudzu extract are related to its beneficial effects. Kudzu root extract contains not only a high concentration of puerarin (25 per cent) but also other phenolic compounds,” wrote the researchers.
Source: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Volume 57, Issue 16, Pages 7268-7273, doi: 10.1021/jf901169y
“Chronic Dietary Kudzu Isoflavones Improve Components of Metabolic Syndrome in Stroke-Prone Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats”
Authors: N. Peng, J.K. Prasain, Y. Dai, R. Moore, A. Arabshahi, S. Barnes, S. Carlson, J.M. Wyss
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Vine-root-extract-has-heart-health-supplement-potential-Study

Pomegranate seed oil may prevent diabetes: Study

Nutraingredients.com, 26-Aug-2009

Consuming oil from pomegranate seeds may prevent the development of diabetes, suggest results from a study with mice fed a high-fat diet.
Pomegranate seed oil, rich in conjugate linolenic acid, was found to change weight gain, reduce body weight, and improve insulin sensitivity in mice,“suggesting that risk of developing type 2 diabetes may have been reduced”, says a paper published in the British Journal of Nutrition.
While the juice and pulp of pomegranate have received considerable attention, particularly for their potential heart health benefits, as well as benefiting joint health and as a potential prevention of prostate cancer, the seeds have been largely ignored.
The source of the fruit and juice’s benefits is the antioxidant content, particularly ellagitannin compounds like punicalagins and punicalins, which accounts for about half of the fruit's antioxidant ability.
However, oil from the fruit’s seeds has minimal antioxidant content, but it is a rich source of 9-cis, 11-trans conjugate linolenic acid. This is a different compound to the one currently on the market - CLA or conjugated linoleic acid.
Study details
Led by Brian McFarlin from the University of Houston, the researchers divided 60 male mice into three equal groups. The first group consumed a high-fat diet, the second group consumed the same high-fat diet but was supplemented with the pomegranate seed oil (61.8 mg per day, POM Wonderful), and the third group consumed a normal diet.
At the end of the study, the mice fed the high-fat diet and supplemented with the pomegranate seed oil gained about 10 grams less than the high-fat only group. Furthermore, insulin sensitivity increased, while leptin decreased and adiponectin increased. “Leptin and adiponectin are closely related to body weight and body composition,” they explained.
However, the researchers did not note any heart health benefits, in terms of reducing the risk for cardiovascular disease. “Despite reduction in weight gain and type 2 diabetes risk, markers for CVD were not altered,” they said.
“It is reasonable to speculate that CVD risk was not altered because POMo lacks the antioxidant properties of pomegranate fruit/juice or was not used at a high enough dose,” they said.
Dr McFarlin and his co-workers stated that future studies should evaluate the potential effects and elucidate the underlying mechanisms of the health benefits of consuming the oil during a period of weight gain.
Source: British Journal of Nutrition
Volume 102, Pages 54-59, doi:10.1017/S0007114508159001
“Pomegranate seed oil consumption during a period of high-fat feeding reduces weight gain and reduces type 2 diabetes risk in CD-1 mice”
Authors: B.K. McFarlin, K.A. Strohacker, M.L. Kueht
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Pomegranate-seed-oil-may-prevent-diabetes-Study

Canada adds acrylamide to toxic substance list

Foodnavigator-USA.com, 26-Aug-2009

Health Canada has added acrylamide, a substance found in French fries and potato chips, to the government’s list of toxic substances.
Acrylamide first came onto the health and safety agenda in 2002 when scientists at the Swedish Food Administration reported unexpectedly high levels ofacrylamide in carbohydrate-rich foods and published evidence linking the chemical to cancer in laboratory rats.
The chemical is not added to foods but is produced when starchy foods are cooked at high temperatures. It is formed by a reaction, known as the Maillard effect, between sugar and an amino acid called asparagine, which creates the brown color and tasty flavor of baked, fried and toasted foods.
Food manufacturers have come under consumer pressure to come up with ways to cut levels of acrylamide in these foods, but now in Canada, the pressure is coming from government.
Reduction strategy
Having added acrylamide to its toxic list, Health Canada will be pursing a three-pronged strategy to reduce exposure to the substance from food sources.
It will press the food industry to develop effective ways of reducing the presence of acrylamide in food and will coordinate with food regulators abroad on risk management. The government body also promised to provide consumers with regularly updated advice.
The decision to add acrylamide to the toxic list comes despite a large number of studies being published since the 2002 Swedish study finding no cancer link. Most recently, scientists at Maastricht University in the Netherlands published a study this spring in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Preventionintakesfinding no link between acrylamide and brain cancer.
Industry action
Nevertheless, Derek Nighbor, a spokesperson for Food and Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC) said there was still a need for further research to understand the health effects of acrylamide.
Over the past few years, aware of consumer concerns and the inconclisive nature of current research, food manufacturers have been making efforts to remove or reduce the chemical in their products.
Most attention in the past two years for reducing the chemical has focused on the use of enzymes to convert asparagine into another amino acid called aspartic acid, thereby preventing the creation of acrylamide. There are two main competitors in this area: Novozymes with its Acrylaway enzyme, and DSM’s Preventase, both of which were launched for use in 2007.
Nighbor said FCPC would be working with government to develop guidance documents to make food companies aware of all the tools at their disposal to reduce levels of Acrylamide.
The inclusion of the chemical on Health Canada’s toxic list is part of the Canadian government’s ongoing review of nearly two hundred chemical substances in widespread commercial use that have never before been subjected to thorough risk analysis.
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Legislation/Canada-adds-acrylamide-to-toxic-substance-list

Soy protein may reduce cholesterol levels for diabetics, too

Consumption of 40 Foodnavigator-USA.com, 26-Aug-2009

Increased intakes of soy protein may reduce cholesterol levels in people with type-2 diabetes, says a new study that expands on the heart healthy potential of soy.
grams of soy protein isolate (SPI) per day for 57 days resulted in significant reductions in both LDL cholesterol and the ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol, compared to consumption of the same dose of milk protein, according to results published in the Journal of Nutrition.
“This study provides evidence for soy as a dietary preventive strategy for adults with type-2 diabetes to reduce their cardiovascular disease risk and, in so doing, improve their quality, and possibly length, of life,” wrote the researchers, led by Alison Duncan from the University of Guelph.
The association between soy protein and blood lipid levels, led the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve a cardiovascular disease (CVD) reduction claim for soybean protein in 1999.
Hypercholesterolaemia has a long association with many diseases, particularly cardiovascular disease (CVD), the cause of almost 50 per cent of deaths in Europe, and reported to cost the EU economy an estimated €169bn ($202bn) per year.
“This study therefore adds to the literature through its particular emphasis on prevention by studying adults with type-2 diabetes who are free of diabetic complications and not taking glycemic or lipid-lowering mediations,” wrote Duncan and her co-workers.
Study details
Dr Duncan and her co-workers recruited 29 type-2 diabetics for their double-blind, randomized, crossover, placebo-controlled intervention study. The participants were assigned to consume a daily dose of soy protein isolate, which also contained 80 mg of aglycone isoflavones, or milk protein isolate for 57 days. At the end of the intervention they underwent a 28 day washout period prior to being crossed over to the other intervention.
According to their findings, the soy protein intervention was associated with a significant reduction in LDL cholesterol levels of 0.17 mmol/l, a reduction in the ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol of 0.03 points, and drops in the ratio of apolipoprotein B:apolipoprotein A-I, compared to the milk protein intervention.
Apolipoprotein B is the main apolipoprotein of LDL cholesterol and is responsible for the transport of cholesterol to tissues. In high concentrations it has been linked to plaque formation in the blood vessels, although the mechanism behind this is not clear.
“The inclusion of apolipoproteins in future soy intervention studies is highly warranted; their relevance to CVD risk is well established and there is a particular emphasis on the apolipoprotein B:apolipoprotein A-I ratio as highly predictive in the evaluation of cardiac risk,” wrote the researchers.
The ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol, reported to be the most specific lipid risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), was not affected by the intervention, they added.
No changes in HDL cholesterol were noted by the researchers.
“These data demonstrate that consumption of soy protein can modulate some serum lipids in a direction beneficial for CVD risk in adults with type 2 diabetes,”wrote the researchers.
Source : Journal of Nutrition
September 2009, Volume 139, Pages 1700-1706, doi:10.3945/jn.109.109595
“Soy Protein Reduces Serum LDL Cholesterol and the LDL Cholesterol:HDL Cholesterol and Apolipoprotein B:Apolipoprotein A-I Ratios in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes”
Authors: E.A. Pipe, C.P. Gobert, S.E. Capes, G.A. Darlington, J.W. Lampe, A.M. Duncan
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Science-Nutrition/Soy-protein-may-reduce-cholesterol-levels-for-diabetics-too

Vitamin takers less likely felled by heart disease
Last Updated: 2009-08-26 17:00:54 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Good news for those who take vitamin supplements: People who take a multivitamin and vitamin E nearly every day for 10 years seem to have a slightly lower risk of death from heart disease, study findings hint.
Those who take vitamin E and C supplements may also have a lower risk of death overall in a five-year period, while those who take vitamin C may have a lower risk of death from cancer, note study authors Dr. Gaia Pocobelli, at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington, and colleagues.
Vitamins E and C are antioxidants that are thought to protect against damage the body's cells, but scientists have "no clear evidence" that their use staves off death.
While the findings of the current study back earlier studies, many of the decreased risks are small, and may have more to do with other healthy behaviors in which people who take vitamins are likely to take part, the authors are quick to add in their report in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
The team surveyed 77,719 men and women in Washington State who were between 50 and 76 years old. Overall 67, 47, and 48 percent of the study group had ever used multivitamins, vitamin C, and vitamin E supplements, respectively.
Overall, there were 3,577 deaths in the group over five years. Among those who did not use vitamins, there were 350 deaths from heart disease, while there were 519 deaths among those who used vitamins between a few days and seven days per week.
After adjusting for gender and age, lifestyle, diet, and medical conditions, the researchers saw no differences between non-users and those who used multivitamins for zero to 2 days, 3 to 5 days, or 6 to 7 days per week on average over 10 years.
By contrast, they saw slightly decreased risk for death from heart disease among those reporting the most frequent multivitamin use.
When the researchers looked at vitamin C use, those who took more than 322 milligrams per day had a slightly decreased overall and cancer-related risk of death within five years, compared with non-users. Those with a history of heart disease who took this level of vitamin C had slightly decreased risk for death from heart disease.
Compared with non-users, men and women reporting more than 215 milligrams per day of vitamin E per day - roughly the amount found in a typical supplement -- had slightly decreased total and heart disease-related risk of death. The investigators saw no association between cancer death risk and vitamin E intake.
Even though the study took lifestyle into account, the authors that many of the findings "should be interpreted cautiously because healthy behaviors" - some of which may not have been measured - "tend to be more common in supplement users than in nonusers."
SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, August 15, 2009.
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/08/26/eline/links/20090826elin002.html

EPA Pesticide Exposure Test Too Short, Overlooks Long Term Effects, According To Expert

ScienceDaily (Aug. 27, 2009) — The four-day testing period the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) commonly uses to determine safe levels of pesticide exposure for humans and animals could fail to account for the toxins' long-term effects, University of Pittsburgh researchers report in the September edition of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.
The team found that the highly toxic pesticide endosulfan—a neurotoxin banned in several nations but still used extensively in U.S. agriculture—can exhibit a "lag effect" with the fallout from exposure not surfacing until after direct contact has ended. Lead author Devin Jones, a recent Pitt biological sciences graduate, conducted the experiment under Rick Relyea, an associate professor of biological sciences in Pitt's School of Arts and Sciences, with collaboration from Pitt post-doctoral researcher John Hammond.
The team exposed nine species of frog and toad tadpoles to endosulfan levels "expected and found in nature" for the EPA's required four-day period, then moved the tadpoles to clean water for an additional four days, Jones reported. Although endosulfan was ultimately toxic to all species, three species of tadpole showed no significant sensitivity to the chemical until after they were transferred to fresh water. Within four days of being moved, up to 97 percent of leopard frog tadpoles perished along with up to 50 percent of spring peeper and American toad tadpoles.
Of most concern, explained Relyea, is that tadpoles and other amphibians are famously sensitive to pollutants and considered an environmental indicator species. The EPA does not require testing on amphibians to determine pesticide safety, but Relyea previously found that endosulfan is 1,000-times more lethal to amphibians than other pesticides. Yet, he said, if the powerful insecticide cannot kill one the world's most susceptible species in four days, then the four-day test period may not adequately gauge the long-term effects on larger, less-sensitive species.
"When a pesticide's toxic effect takes more than four days to appear, it raises serious concerns about making regulatory decisions based on standard four-day tests for any organism," Relyea said. "For most pesticides, we assume that animals will die during the period of exposure, but we do not expect substantial death after the exposure has ended. Even if EPA regulations required testing on amphibians, our research demonstrates that the standard four-day toxicity test would have dramatically underestimated the lethal impact of endosulfan on even this notably sensitive species."
Andrew Blaustein, a professor in Oregon State University's nationally ranked Department of Zoology, who is familiar with the Pitt study, said the results raise concerns about standards for other chemicals and the delayed dangers that might be overlooked. Some of the frog eggs the Pitt team used had been collected by Blaustein's students for an earlier unrelated experiment, but he had no direct role in the current research.
"The results are somewhat alarming because standards for assessing the impacts of contaminants are usually based on short-term studies that may be insufficient in revealing the true impact," Blaustein said. "The implications of this study go beyond a single pesticide and its effect on amphibians. Many other animals and humans may indeed be affected similarly."
Tadpoles in the Pitt project spent four days in 0.5 liters of water containing endosulfan concentrations of 2, 6, 7, 35, 60, and 296 parts-per-billion (ppb), levels consistent with those found in nature. The team cites estimates from Australia—where endosulfan is widely used—that the pesticide can reach 700 ppb when sprayed as close as 10 meters from the ponds amphibians typically call home and 4 ppb when sprayed within 200 meters. The EPA estimates that surface drinking water can have chronic endosulfan levels of 0.5 to 1.5 ppb and acute concentrations of 4.5 to 23.9 ppb.
Leopard frogs, spring peepers, and American toads fared well during the experiment's first four days, but once they were in clean water, the death rate spiked for animals previously exposed to 35 and 60 ppb. Although the other six species did not experience the lag effect, the initial doses of endosulfan were still devastating at very low concentrations. Grey and Pacific tree frogs, Western toads, and Cascades frogs began dying in large numbers from doses as low as 7 ppb, while the same amount killed all green frog and bullfrog tadpoles.
The endosulfan findings build on a 10-year effort by Relyea to understand the potential links between the global decline in amphibians, routine pesticide use, and the possible threat to humans in the future.
A second paper by Relyea and Jones also in the current Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry expands on one of Relyea's most notable investigations, a series of findings published in Ecological Applications in 2005 indicating that the popular weed-killer Roundup® is "extremely lethal" to amphibians in concentrations found in the environment. The latest work determined the toxicity of Roundup Original Max for a wider group of larval amphibians, including nine frog and toad species and four salamander species.
In November 2008, Relyea reported in Oecologia that the world's 10 most popular pesticides—which have been detected in nature—combine to create "cocktails of contaminants" that can destroy amphibian populations, even if the concentration of each individual chemical is within levels considered safe to humans and animals. The mixture killed 99 percent of leopard frog tadpoles and endosulfan alone killed 84 percent.
A month earlier, Relyea published a paper in Ecological Applications reporting that gradual amounts of malathion—the most popular insecticide in the United States—too small to directly kill developing leopard frog tadpoles instead sparked a biological chain reaction that deprived them of their primary food source. As a result, nearly half the tadpoles in the experiment did not reach maturity and would have died in nature.
Jones et al. Very Highly Toxic Effects Of Endosulfan Across Nine Species Of Tadpoles: Lag Effects And Family-level Sensitivity. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 2009; 28 (9): 1939 DOI: 10.1897/09-033.1
Rick A. Relyea and Devin K. Jones. The Toxicity Of Roundup Original Maxh To 13 Species Of Larval Amphibians. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Vol. 28, No. 9, pp. 2004-2008, 2009
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090817143610.htm

Fruit Is Even Better For You Than Previously Thought

ScienceDaily (Aug. 27, 2009) — An international team of scientists has found that the polyphenol content of fruits has been underestimated.
Polyphenol content in fruits usually refers to extractable polyphenols, but a Spanish scientist working at the Institute of Food Research in Norwich analysed apple, peach and nectarine. She found that nonextractable polyphenol content is up to five times higher than extractable compounds. This work has been published in theJournal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
“These polyphenols need to be treated with acid to extract them from the cell walls of fruit in the lab,” said Sara Arranz from the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) in Madrid. “If non-extractable polyphenols are not considered, the levels of beneficial polyphenols such as proanthocyanidins, ellagic acid and catechin are substantially underestimated.”
Dr Paul Kroon from IFR explains: “In the human body these compounds will be fermented by bacteria in the colon, creating metabolites that may be beneficial, for example with antioxidant activity.”
The Spanish research group, led by Professor Fulgencio Saura-Calixto, has been working to show that nonextractable polyphenols, which mostly escape analysis and are not usually considered in nutritional studies, are a major part of bioactive compounds in the diet.
“These polyphenols are major constituents of the human diet with important health properties. To consider them in nutritional and epidemiological research may be useful for a better understanding of the effects of plant foods in health,” says Professor Saura-Calixto.
The study was funded by a scholarship to Dr Arranz from the Spanish Ministry of Science and through IFR’s core strategic grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.
Sara Arranz, Fulgencio Saura-Calixto, Shika Shaha, Paul A. Kroon. High Contents of Nonextractable Polyphenols in Fruits Suggest That Polyphenol Contents of Plant Foods Have Been Underestimated. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2009; 57 (16): 7298
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090827073252.htm

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Primary Suicide Risk Factor For Veterans

ScienceDaily (Aug. 26, 2009) — Researchers working with Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans have found that post-traumatic stress disorder, the current most common mental disorder among veterans returning from service in the Middle East, is associated with an increased risk for thoughts of suicide.
Results of the study indicated that veterans who screened positive for PTSD were four times more likely to report suicide-related thoughts relative to veterans without the disorder. The research, published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, establishes PTSD as a risk factor for thoughts of suicide in Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. This holds true, even after accounting for other psychiatric disorder diagnoses, such as substance abuse and depression. Veterans who screened positive for PTSD and two or more comorbid mental disorders were significantly more likely to experience thoughts of suicide relative to veterans with PTSD alone.
As many as forty-six percent of veterans in the study experienced suicidal thoughts or behaviors in the month prior to seeking care, and of those veterans, three percent reported an actual attempt within four months prior to seeking the care. Suicide-related thoughts and behaviors discovered in a returning veteran who has been diagnosed with PTSD, especially in the presence of other mental disorders, may suggest an increased risk for suicide.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090825151341.htm

High Blood Pressure Linked To Memory Problems In Middle Age

ScienceDaily (Aug. 26, 2009) — High blood pressure is linked to memory problems in people over 45, according to research published in the August 25, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The study found that people with high diastolic blood pressure, which is the bottom number of a blood pressure reading, were more likely to have cognitive impairment, or problems with their memory and thinking skills, than people with normal diastolic readings.
For every 10 point increase in the reading, the odds of a person having cognitive problems was seven percent higher. The results were valid after adjusting for other factors that could affect cognitive abilities, such as age, smoking status, exercise level, education, diabetes or high cholesterol.
The study involved nearly 20,000 people age 45 and older across the country who participated in the Reasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) Study and had never had a stroke or mini-stroke. A total of 1,505 of the participants, or 7.6 percent, had cognitive problems, and 9,844, or 49.6 percent, were taking medication for high blood pressure.
High blood pressure is defined as a reading equal to or higher than 140/90 or taking medication for high blood pressure.
"It's possible that by preventing or treating high blood pressure, we could potentially prevent cognitive impairment, which can be a precursor to dementia," said study author Georgios Tsivgoulis, MD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.
Research has shown that high diastolic blood pressure leads to weakening of small arteries in the brain, which can result in the development of small areas of brain damage.
Tsivgoulis said more research is needed to confirm the relationship between high blood pressure and cognitive impairment.
The study was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).
"The REGARDS study is one of the largest population-based studies of risk factors for stroke. These latest data suggest that higher blood pressure may be a risk factor for cognitive decline, but further studies will be necessary to understand the cause-effect relationship," said Walter J. Koroshetz, MD, deputy director of NINDS and Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology. "The National Institutes of Health is now organizing a large clinical trial to evaluate whether aggressive blood pressure lowering can decrease a number of important health outcomes including cognitive decline."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090824182430.htm

Majority Of Americans Believe 'Myths' About Health Care Reform, National Survey Finds

ScienceDaily (Aug. 26, 2009) — Do Americans believe controversial assertions about health care reform including death panels, threats to Medicare, abortions, illegal immigrants and other claims which the White House administrators have labeled as untrue "myths?"
Findings from a new national survey of Americans by researchers from Indiana University Center for Health Policy and Professionalism Research (CHPPR) and the Indiana University Center for Bioethics says that Americans do believe the "myths" about health care reform, confirming that the White House may indeed be losing this battle.
"A surprisingly large proportion of Americans believe what the White House has dubbed 'myths' about health care reform," said CHPPR director Dr. Aaron Carroll. "Ironically, we found that the least believed myths, such as those related to mandatory end-of-life decisions and euthanasia counseling, are those that have gained the most traction in the media and have resulted in changes to the House bill."
From Aug. 14 -18, a random sample of 600 Americans in the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia were asked 19 questions about their personal beliefs concerning health insurance reform assertions. A majority believed most of these statements to be true, with an overwhelming number of Republicans and -- for many issues -- Independents finding truth in the controversial assertions.
Who and what types of services will be covered if the proposed reforms are passed:

• 67 percent of Americans believe that wait times for health care services (such as surgery) will increase (91 percent of Republicans, 37 percent of Democrats, 72 percent of Independents).
• Roughly six out of 10 Americans believe that taxpayers will be required to pay for abortions (78 percent of Republicans, 30 percent of Democrats, 58 percent of Independents).
• 46 percent believe that reforms will result in health care coverage for all illegal immigrants (66 percent of Republicans, 29 percent of Democrats, 43 percent of Independents).

Level of government involvement with health care if the proposed reforms pass:

• Five out 10 believe the federal government will become directly involved in making personal health care decisions (80 percent of Republicans, 25 percent of Democrats, 56 percent of Independents).
• However only three out of 10 Americans believe that the government will require the elderly to make decisions about how and when they will die (53 percent of Republicans, 14 percent of Democrats, 31 percent of Independents) -- a topic that has received a considerable amount of media attention.

Impact on current health insurance coverage if the proposed reforms are passed:
Interestingly, fewer people surveyed believe statements regarding the impact of proposed reforms on current health insurance coverage.

• Only 29 percent of respondents believe that private insurance coverage would be eliminated (44 percent of Republicans, 11 percent of Democrats, 33 percent of Independents), and only 33 percent believed that reforms would result in the elimination of employer-sponsored health insurance coverage (56 percent of Republicans, 14 percent of Democrats, 31 percent of Independents).
• Additionally, only 36 percent of Americans believe that a public insurance option will put private insurance companies out of business (56 percent of Republicans, 18 percent of Democrats, 35 percent of Independents).

Costs of the proposed reforms and how the reforms will be paid for:

• Almost six out of 10 Americans believe that a public insurance option as proposed would be too expensive for the United States to afford (84 percent of Republicans, 27 percent of Democrats, 58 percent of Independents).
• 51 percent believe that the public insurance option will increase health care costs (79 percent of Republicans, 21 percent of Democrats, 53 percent of Independents), and 54 percent believe that the public option will increase premiums for Americans with private health insurance (78 percent of Republicans, 28 percent of Democrats, 58 percent of Independents).
• Five out of 10 Americans think that cuts will be made to Medicare in order to cover more Americans (66 percent of Republicans, 37 percent of Democrats, 44 percent of Independents).

"It's perhaps not surprising that more Republicans believe these things than Democrats," said Carroll. "What is surprising is just how many Republicans -- and Independents -- believe them. If the White House hopes to convince the majority of Americans that they are misinformed about health care reform, there is much work to be done."
This survey was designed and funded by CHPPR and the IU Center for Bioethics (IUCB) and conducted by Market Strategies International on their behalf. The margin of sampling error for results based on the total sample is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
A full report on the survey can be found at: http://chppr.iupui.edu/research/healthreformmyths.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090824115809.htm

World's Last Great Forest Under Threat: New Study

ScienceDaily (Aug. 25, 2009) — The world's last remaining "pristine" forest -- the boreal forest across large stretches of Russia, Canada and other northern countries -- is under increasing threat, a team of international researchers has found.
The researchers from the University of Adelaide in Australia, Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada and the National University of Singapore have called for the urgent preservation of existing boreal forests in order to secure biodiversity and prevent the loss of this major global carbon sink.
The boreal forest comprises about one-third of the world's forested area and one-third of the world's stored carbon, covering a large proportion of Russia, Canada, Alaska and Scandinavia.
To date it has remained largely intact because of the typically sparse human populations in boreal regions. That is now changing says researchers and co-authors Associate Professor Corey Bradshaw, University of Adelaide, Associate Professor Ian Warkentin, Memorial University, and Professor Navjot Sodhi, National University of Singapore.
"Much world attention has focused on the loss and degradation of tropical forests over the past three decades, but now the boreal forest is poised to become the next Amazon," says Associate Professor Bradshaw, from the University of Adelaide's Environment Institute.
"Historically, fire and insects have driven the natural dynamics of boreal ecosystems," says Associate Professor Warkentin. "But with rising demand for resources, human disturbances caused by logging, mining and urban development have increased in these forests during recent years, with extensive forest loss for some regions and others facing heavy fragmentation and exploitation."
The findings have been published online in Trends in Ecology and Evolution in a paper called "Urgent preservation of boreal carbon stocks and biodiversity". The findings include:

• Fire is the main driver of change and increased human activity is leading to more fires. There is also evidence that climate change is increasing the frequency and possibly the extent of fires in the boreal zone.
• Few countries are reporting an overall change in the coverage by boreal forest but the degree of fragmentation is increasing with only about 40% of the total forested area remaining "intact".
• Russian boreal forest is the most degraded and least "intact" and has suffered the greatest decline in the last few decades.
• Countries with boreal forest are protecting less than 10% of their forests from timber exploitation, except for Sweden where the figure is about 20%.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090825090755.htm

Statins Cause Serious Structural Muscle Damage

S. L. Baker, NaturalNews.com  August 26, 2009 

(NaturalNews) If there is a super star in Big Pharma's list of money making drugs, it may well be the group of medications known as statins. The New York Times reported last year that statins are, in fact, the biggest selling drugs in the world. Their names, like Lipitor and Crestor, are familiar from countless television and magazine ads and almost everyone knows someone taking a statin. Promoted widely as safe, they are actually known to cause a litany of potential side effects. For example, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) web site notes that about one in 1,000 of those takingstatins suffer from muscle pain. Usually, these aches go away. But not always. And now new research shows that in some people statins cause serious structural damage to muscles.

The study, just published in CMAJ (the Canadian Medical Association Journal) suggests that patients who are taking statins and who complain to their doctors about muscle tenderness or pain could well be describing severe muscle problems due to the drugs. Although muscle damage is usually associated with elevated levels of an enzyme called creatine phosphokinase, the CMAJ research shows that's not always the case. And it may take muscle biopsies to show that underlying structural injury has occurred.

The study was conducted by scientists from the University of Bern, Switzerland and the Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. The research team investigated muscle biopsies from 83 patients. Twenty of these had never taken statins. The results showed significant muscle injury only in people who had taken statin drugs. Perhaps what was most surprising is that several people who were no longer taking statins were found to still have significant structural muscle damage.

"Although in clinical practice, the majority of patients with muscle symptoms improve rapidly after cessation of therapy, our findings support that a subgroup of patients appears to be more susceptible to statin-associated myotoxicity, suffering persistent structural injury," Dr. Annette Draeger from the University of Bern and her coauthors wrote in the CMAJ article.

The study did not address whether statins might cause other significant body-wide damage. However, it is interesting to note that the very organ statins are supposed to protect, the heart, is a muscle. And that raises troublesome questions about possible long term, not-yet-known side effectsstatin drugs may have on the heart itself.

The researchers did note in a statement to the media that there is "a need to evaluate alternative treatment strategies for patients with significant muscle symptoms." As Natural News readers are well aware, there are already well-known natural health strategies that lower cholesterol levels safely, without any possibility of muscle damage. For example, previous research has shown certain foods, including tofu, almonds, cereal fiber and plant sterols, can lower total cholesterol and LDL, the "bad" cholesterol, better than statins (http://www.naturalnews.com/008310.html). Weight loss, increased intake of Omega-3 fatty acids and exercise are also drug-free strategies that lower cholesterol safely 
http://www.naturalnews.com/026925_statins_drugs_NaturalNews.html

Defend Against Disease with Broccoli Juice

Sheryl Walters, NaturalNews.com  August 26, 2009

(NaturalNews) Broccoli is a member of the cauliflower family or a Brassica. It is a diverse super food that is delicious when steamed or can be finely chopped and sprinkled on food for added nutrition. Juicing is a great way to get the most out of this amazing food. By drinking broccoli juice daily, we can prevent disease and transform our health.

Broccoli juice contains high levels of Vitamin C, Vitamin B, fiber, zinc, folic acid, magnesium, iron and beta-carotene (an important antioxidant). It is a potent immune system booster which can help to counteract diseases such as cancer, stomach ulcers and infection.

Broccoli juice offers a whole array of amazing benefits that help us to enjoy optimum health. It contains glucoraphanin that converts into sulphoraphane, a powerful anticancer agent. It contains isothyocyanate, the chemical that activates our natural cancer inhibiting genes. The sprouted seeds and the broccoli juice help to fight prostate cancer. It contains compounds that help to detox the liver from cancer causing toxins.

With high levels of selenium and fiber, the juice of Broccoli offers protection from stomach and bowel cancer.

Broccoli juice contains compounds that protect cells from ultraviolet light. It helps to increase the production of protective enzymes that protect cells against different aspects of UV damage by working inside the cells. It helps in prevention of skin cancer.

Glucoraphanin present in the broccoli juice promotes antioxidant defenses in the body that help lower blood pressure and harmful inflammation in the heart and arteries.

The phytochemical sulforaphane helps the body defend against H. pylori, a bacteria that causes gastrointestinal problems. Thus, it helps to prevent stomach ulcers and painful bloating.

Broccoli juice contains fibers which help to maintain a healthy gastrointestinal GI tract. It reduces cholesterol levels in the blood. Calcium present in the Broccoli juice promotes healthy bones and helps to burn fat. It decreases the production of cortisol, which is a stress hormone, relating to foodcravings and stomach fat.

Other Benefits of Broccoli:

*Contains folic acid that is needed for the normal growth of the tissue. This is good for pregnant woman.
*Helps to get relief from cold symptoms, since it contains Vitamin C, which is an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.
*Assists the body in absorbing iron.
*It helps to prevent osteoporosis, since it contains large amount of calcium.

By combining Broccoli juice and its various nutritional benefits with other super food juices, we can even create greater radiance and disease free health. Celery, cucumbers, ginger and kale are some of the healthiest foods for juicing. A little carrot and apple can naturally sweeten the juice, making it more palatable and enjoyable.
http://www.naturalnews.com/026924_broccoli_disease_broccoli_juice.html

Setting the people up to die: A conspiracy of silence about swine flu natural remedies

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews.com  August 26, 2009

(NaturalNews) It's emblazoned across the front page of USA Today, just underneath a subhead declaring Michael Jackson was, indeed, killed by a drug overdose: "Flu could infect half of USA." The article goes on to describe the predicted number of deaths expected in the U.S. (30,000 - 90,000 Americans) as well as the actions being taken by the government to protect Americans from the coming swine flu pandemic.

That advice reads sort of like a comic book of health care advice for kindergarteners: Wash your hands, cover your mouth if you cough and let "the grownups" take care of the rest by injecting you with a vaccine. Curiously absent from all the health advice being handed out on the swine flu by the White House, the CDC, the WHO and even the FDA is any mention of Vitamin D or other natural remedies that offer enormous protections from influenza infections.

The absence of this information from virtually all the advice being handed out to the American public is increasingly suspicious. If a pandemic flu is, indeed, threatening to infect half the U.S. population, and if most of the population is deficient in a nutrient known to strongly prevent influenzainfections, wouldn't it make good sense to make a few announcements encouraging Americans to raise their vitamin D levels throughout the comingwinter?

It is a well-known medical fact, of course, that influenza always gets worse during the winter months North of the equator and the summer months South of the equator (which are really called their "winter" months). This is because as sunlight hours lessen during the winter, the people living there become vitamin D deficient and are susceptible to influenza infections of all kinds.

The information resources backing this are easy to find. Even our own NaturalPedia.com website reveals a large amount of information on natural defenses against influenza (http://www.naturalpedia.com/influen...). NaturalNews.com, of course, offers a wealth of articles on Vitamin D (http://www.naturalnews.com/vitamin_...).

In the realm of peer-reviewed medical literature, searching Google Scholar for "influenza" and "vitamin D" returns tens of thousands of results (http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q...). In particular, one study appearing in these search results is entitled Epidemic influenza and vitamin D. It was published in 2006 in the journal Epidemiology and Infection (2006, 134:6:1129-1140 Cambridge University Press) and its abstract reads as follows:

In 1981, R. Edgar Hope-Simpson proposed that a 'seasonal stimulus' intimately associated with solar radiation explained the remarkable seasonality of epidemic influenza. Solar radiation triggers robust seasonal vitamin D production in the skin; vitamin D deficiency is common in the winter, and activated vitamin D, 1,25(OH)2D, a steroid hormone, has profound effects on human immunity. 1,25(OH)2D acts as an immune system modulator, preventing excessive expression of inflammatory cytokines and increasing the 'oxidative burst' potential of macrophages. Perhaps most importantly, it dramatically stimulates the expression of potent anti-microbial peptides, which exist in neutrophils, monocytes, natural killer cells, and in epithelial cells lining the respiratory tract where they play a major role in protecting the lung from infection. Volunteers inoculated with live attenuated influenza virus are more likely to develop fever and serological evidence of an immune response in the winter. Vitamin D deficiency predisposes children to respiratory infections. Ultraviolet radiation (either from artificial sources or from sunlight) reduces the incidence of viral respiratory infections, as does cod liver oil (which contains vitamin D). An interventional study showed that vitamin D reduces the incidence of respiratory infections in children. We conclude that vitamin D, or lack of it, may be Hope-Simpson's 'seasonal stimulus'.

Source: http://journals.cambridge.org/actio...

Why the silence?

Vitamin D is perhaps the single most powerful nutrient in the known universe for preventing influenza, and yet the Obama White House won't dare utter a word about it to the American people, even in the face of a potentially devastating global pandemic that could be largely halted by vitamin D.

It begs the question: Why the silence?

There are really only three possible explanations for why the White House and U.S. health authorities would refuse to tell the public about vitamin D as a smart defense against the influenza pandemic:

Reason #1) They don't know about vitamin D. This, of course, is impossible. The medical literature is saturated with respectable studies demonstrating the anti-viral and immune modulating effects of vitamin D. For someone in the field of infectious disease to be unaware of vitamin D's protective benefits would be downright laughable. It would be like a car mechanic not knowing what a fuel filter was.

Reason #2) They do know about vitamin D, and they want to tell people, but they don't know how or don't have the money. This explanation, too, is ridiculous. Telling the people the truth about vitamin D is as simple (and as free) as just calling a White House press conference, inviting a vitamin D expert like Dr. Michael Holick to say a few words, and putting the message out to the mainstream media. In 24 hours, all the newspaper headlines across the country could print headlines like, "White House urges Americans to boost vitamin D before swine flu strikes." The whole nation could be properly informed about vitamin D in less than 72 hours.

But that will never happen. And why? Because of reason #3...

Reason #3) They know about vitamin D but they are intentionally withholding information from the American people In essence, they want to keep the American people nutritionally illiterate so that they remain "victims" in the coming influenza crisis. Because of who's involved in this (the White House, FDA, CDC, WHO and many others), it cannot be called anything other than a conspiracy of silence about influenza and vitamin D.

What could be the purpose behind such a conspiracy of silence? Clearly its only purpose is to maximize profits to the drug companies and / or maximize the number of deaths that occur when the swine flu strikes North America this coming winter.

But why, you might ask, would these so-called authorities wish to see more Americans die?

Health care reform via a viral pandemic

To answer that, just look at who is most likely to die from swine flu infections: The obese... the people who, generally speaking, are placing the greatest financial burden on the government-funded health care system. The coming swine flu pandemic has the potential to do what no politician could ever get away with: Slash health care spending virtually overnight by simply killing off those who burden the system the most.

Call it Health Care Darwinism if you like. Survival of the fittest married with an evil plot. Let the most costly health care consumers die in a (planned?) pandemic, and suddenly your nation is pulled back from the brink of total financial collapse.

The White House just revised its budget numbers this week, by the way. Government deficit spending for this year is up over 300 percent from last year, reaching an eye-popping, mind-boggling $1.9 trillion in new debt in just a single year! This runaway debt spending is, by any honest calculation, simply unsustainable. It will destroy America's future, leaving the nation penniless. To save America, something drastic must be done. Something as drastic as, say, killing off those who place the greatest cost burdens on the U.S. health care system (which represents roughly twenty percent of all U.S. government spending).

So how do you really cut costs in America? Recognize that roughly one-fifth of U.S. government spending goes to support the "disease industry." And the vast majority of that money is spent taking care of chronically ill individuals who are typically obese and nutrient deficient. Releasing a bio-engineered influenza virus into the wild is a sure way to cut health care spending in the long run by killing those who place the highest burdens on the health care system. While it costs a fortune to take care of a chronically ill patient for two decades, it costs a mere pittance to see them die in a hospital emergency room while they succumb to H1N1 influenza.

Swine flu, it might be said from a cold-hearted evil government point of view, is a cost-effective and quick way to slash health care spending without needing to take any responsibility for making such cuts yourself. Let the virus do the dirty work, killing off the most vulnerable in society and leaving more money behind for Big Government to get even bigger. Think governments couldn't do this? Then you don't know governments well enough.

Now, in defense of the Obama administration, I very much doubt that President Barack Obama himself would be capable of masterminding such an evil plot to kill off the American people in a planned influenza pandemic. This is the kind of thing that usually takes place behind the scenes, where powerful men (far more powerful than Obama) meet in dark places to plan and plot the future of the world. If it is in their interests to see the population suffer through a pandemic, they will make sure one appears at the appropriate time.

It could also be a joint arrangement between powerful corporations and Big Government. The corporate drug companies want to make money off the vaccine sales. The government wants to save money by killing off the top recipients of expensive health care services (who also wouldn't burden Medicare down the road, either). By working together, they can both get what they want. One pandemic serves both masters, and it's all funded by taxpayer dollars to boot!

This is still a theory, not proof

I can't prove that such a plot is actually under way, by the way. When discussing conspiracy theories, I'm always careful to point out that I have no specific proof that such a nefarious plot actually exists. There is, however, quite a lot of supporting circumstantial evidence that should raise the eyebrows of anyone paying attention. For example, there is this training brochure that recently surfaced (http://www.new-fields.com/ISFC/broc...) which describes procedures for "conducting morgue operations" and "activating fatality management operations."

This same document also describes training points that cover:

• Breakdown of public services
• Medical supplies shortages
• Unwillingness to follow government orders

... among other fascinating things. The conference this advertises was held August 19 - 20 in Washington D.C. by a company called New-Fields that holds, among other things, an "Iraq Aviation & Defense Summit" (http://www.new-fields.com/iraq_avia...) featuring senior U.S. military personnel and touting "one to one meetings with Iraqi officials."

This isn't the first time a company with ties to the U.S. military has been found to be involved in the swine flu pandemic. My previous article onNaturalNews exposed the DynCorp / NIH patent link, revealing that a key influenza vaccine patent was jointly owned by the National Institutes of Health and a high-level private U.S. military contractor named DynCorp. You can read that article here: http://www.naturalnews.com/026779_s...

So what does it all mean? Like a lot of things, it just depends what you choose to believe. 

I don't know if I believe the evil, nefarious conspiracy theory described as a possibility in this article. But neither do I trust my government (and I sure don't trust public health officials). So I'm doing exactly what I recommend everybody else do: Take charge of your own swine flu defenses by boosting your nutrition and sunlight exposure. Store some food, water and other basic preparedness supplies just in case. Be prepared to survive and thriveduring the coming pandemic, regardless of what happens around you.

Just because everybody else is planning on becoming a victim of circumstance doesn't mean you have to. With a little basic planning and some medical common sense, you can see yourself through this pandemic with ease. No sweat.
http://www.naturalnews.com/026921_Vitamin_D_influenza_swine_flu.html

Baking Soda Found To Help People with Chronic Kidney Disease

S. L. Baker, NaturalNews.com  August 26, 2009

(NaturalNews) Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a serious condition marked by the permanent loss of kidney function. When the kidneys are damaged, the organs can't remove wastes and extra water from the blood as well as they should and the result can be a host of serious and even deadly health consequences. But now researchers in the United Kingdom have made a breakthrough in the treatment of advanced CKD -- and it doesn't involve a new drug or high tech surgery. Instead, it's simply a daily dose of sodium bicarbonate or, as it is more commonly called, baking soda. 

Used for everything from baking cookies and non-toxic cleaning to relieving indigestion and sunburn, now baking soda has been shown to slow the decline of kidney function in CKD, according to a study set for publication in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). "This cheap and simple strategy also improves patients' nutritional status, and has the potential of translating into significant economic, quality of life, and clinical outcome benefits," researcher Magdi Yaqoob, MD, of the Royal London Hospital, said in a statement to the media.

This is an enormously important finding because CKD is a growing health problem, both in the UK and the US. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), between1990 and 2000, the number of people with kidney failure requiring dialysis or transplantation in the US virtually doubled to 380,000. If this trend continues, around 700,000 people will have serious kidney failure by 2010. 

Dr. Yaqoob studied 134 patients with advanced CKD and low bicarbonate levels, a condition known as metabolic acidosis. One group of these patients was treated with a small daily dose of sodium bicarbonate in tablet form, in addition to their usual care. The results? The rate of decline in kidney function was dramatically reduced in these patients. Overall, the decline was about two-thirds slower than in patients not given sodium bicarbonate."In fact, in patients taking sodium bicarbonate, the rate of decline in kidney function was similar to the normal age-related decline," Dr. Yaqoob stated.

The patients taking sodium bicarbonate were also less likely to develop end-stage renal disease (ESRD) which causes people with CKD to undergo regular dialysis. In addition, those taking sodium bicarbonate also had improvement in several measures of nutrition. And, even though their levels of sodium went up, they did not experience increased blood pressure.

Low bicarbonate levels are common in patients with CKD and can lead to a wide range of other problems. "This is the first randomized controlled study of its kind," says Yaqoob. "A simple remedy like sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), when used appropriately, can be very effective."

The NIH estimates that 20 million Americans have significantly reduced kidney function, and even a small decline in kidney function can double a person's risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Many people will experience heart attacks or strokes before they are even aware they have kidney disease. Fortunately, there are many natural strategies that can help prevent, fight and heal kidney disease (http://www.healingfoodreference.com...). For example, avoiding soda pop can lower the odds of developing CKD in the first place (http://www.naturalnews.com/025582_s...). And, as reported earlier in NaturalNews, eating fish a couple of times a week has been shown to help prevent kidney disease in diabetics
http://www.naturalnews.com/026920_soda_disease_baking_soda.html

Antidepressant Commonly Prescribed for Autism Found Utterly Useless

David Gutierrez, NaturalNews.com  August 26, 2009

(NaturalNews) The antidepressant Celexa, commonly prescribed to alleviate some symptoms of autism in children, has no medical benefit in such patients, while exposing them to a significant risk of side effects.

Researchers treated 149 autistic children between the ages of five and 17 with either Celexa (generic name citalopram) or a placebo for 12 weeks. While one third of the patients who took Celexa showed improvement in symptoms over the study period, just as many patients showed improvement on the placebo. Children who took Celexa were twice as likely to suffer from side effects, including insomnia and impulsiveness, as children who took a placebo.

Lead researcher Bryan King noted that doctors prescribing drugs for "off-label" uses not approved by the FDA -- often uses for which few studies of effectiveness or safety have been done -- may think the treatment is actually working because of strong placebo effects like that seen in this study.

Celexa is an antidepressant in the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. Because many SSRIs have shown some effectiveness in treating the symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder in adults, growing numbers of pediatricians are turning to the drugs to treat obsessive, repetitive behaviors in autistic children. Many autistic children are prone to carry out repetitive behaviors like counting or arm flapping almost uncontrollably, often flying into a tantrum if interrupted.

The only drug approved by the FDA to treat irritability and aggression in autistic children is the atypical antipsychotic risperidone. Federal law allows doctors to prescribe drugs for any use they wish, however.

Treatment of obsessive symptoms in autistic children with Celexa or other SSRIs has been premised on the untested assumption that such symptoms stem from similar neurological pathways as those of adult obsessive compulsive disorder. The new study has cast serious doubt onto that hypothesis.
http://www.naturalnews.com/026918_autism_placebo_drugs.html

Your carpet may cause cancer!

TIMES OF INDIA  25 August 2009
Your carpet might be putting you at a greater risk of developing cancer, warns a Respiratory physician 

Bill Musk has revealed that hessian bags used to transport deadly asbestos products were later reused as carpet underlay. 

Anyone exposed to the underlay risk developing mesothelioma, an incurable cancer. 

"So carpet underfelt from these bags is definitely potentially dangerous," News.com.au quoted Musk as having told ABC's 7.30 Report. 

The program interviewed several people who believed some mesothelioma victims had been exposed to asbestos fibres from carpet. 

A spokesman for Western Australia's Health Department has urged home renovators to take care with their carpet. 

"The main thing is to not disturb it and try and get some advice as to whether there is any dust in their house," he said. 

The spokesman also said that people should hire professionals to tear up carpet underlay, and thoroughly clean the house afterwards. 

The program said the bags were used in carpet underlay until the 1970s, and while it was not known how many homes were affected, it could be in the tens of thousands.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/LIFE-STYLE/Health-Fitness/Health/Your-carpet-may-cause-cancer/articleshow/4931678.cms

Atrazine acts in the brain to disrupt the hormones that trigger ovulation.

Environmental Health News, Aug 20, 2009
Foradori, CD, LR Hinds, WH Hanneman and RJ Handa. 2009. Effects of atrazine on GnRH neuroendocrine function after its withdrawal in the adult female Wistar rat. Biology of Reproduction doi:10.1095/biolreprod.109.077453

The common and highly-used herbicide atrazine can act within the brain to disrupt the cascade of hormone signals needed to initiate ovulation, finds a study with rats published online in the journal Biology of Reproduction. Ovulation is a complex process that begins in the brain and ends with the release of eggs from the ovary. This new study finds that exposure to atrazine can interrupt this process but once the exposure ends, normal function resumes in a few days. The results shed new light on the way atrazine affects the female reproductive system and the persistence of these effects when adults are exposed.

Context

Atrazine is one of the most commonly used herbicides in the the US and the world. More than 76 million pounds are used on US fields each year, particularly in the Central Plains.
Its primary use is to control weeds in agricultural fields, but it is also applied by certified professionals on golf courses, athletic fields and lawns.Stormwater, irrigation and wind can carry the herbicide off of fields where it can taint groundwater and surface water.
Wildlife and human exposure is likely due to its heavy use, especially during springtime planting season. People can be exposed through drinking water and the air, if breathed in during or right after application.
Laboratory and wildlife studies show that atrazine can cause reproductive and other organ abnormalities in vertebrates. As a potential endocrine disruptor, the herbicide can affect how gonads form in developing frogs, even at low doses. It induces a range of reproductive changes in other vertebrates as well, including rodents. These findings suggest that atrazine may also be an endocrine disruptor in humans.
The most persistent effects of atrazine occur when exposure occurs during development – rather than in adulthood – because the brain and reproductive organs are still forming. Effects of developmental exposure are less likely to be reversible.
Atrazine was banned in the European Union in 2004. The US Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Pesticide Programs has concluded that atrazine is safe when used as indicated on the label.
In mammals, ovulation – the release of an egg from the ovaries – is a complex process that requires precise communication via hormone signals between the brain and the ovary. The hormone signaling system is similar in rats and humans.
As the time of ovulation approaches, neurons within the brain that generate a hormone called gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) become active and signal the pituitary gland to release luteinizing hormone (LH). This surge of LH then stimulates the ovary to ovulate.

What did they do?

The study used rats whose ovaries were surgically removed. The female rats were given the hormones estrogen and progesterone to stimulate the release of two important hormones needed for ovulation: gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) from the brain and luteinizing hormone (LH) from the pituitary gland.
The rats were then fed atrazine daily for four days to see if the herbicide could interfere with the release of GnRH and LH. The doses were higher than would be considered relevant for humans but are within the range of what previous studies have used in similar animal studies. Doses given were 0, 50, 100 or 200 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) of body weight.

What did they find?

GnRH activity and LH levels were significantly lower in animals fed atrazine, regardless of dose.
When the herbicide exposure was stopped, LH levels returned to normal within four days.
These results suggest that the reproductive effects of adult exposure to atrazine are reversible.

What does it mean?

Exposure to atrazine reduces the activity of the GnRH neurons in the brain and blocks the LH surge that controls ovulation in vertebrates.
The hormone pathways return to normal when the herbicide exposure is stopped.  This means that atrazine acts on the brain to impact the capacity to ovulate.
This study looked at the effect of adult exposure. Normal hormone function resumed within a few days once the exposure ended, suggesting that the impact is reversible. Exposure during development may produce different longer-lasting or permanent results.
Collectively, the results of this study – along with a prior study by the same research group – demonstrate that exposure to atrazine in adults can disrupt the surge of hormones needed to trigger ovulation in rats. This mechanism is similar in rats and humans, suggesting that disruption in humans is at least possible.
“We were particularly surprised by how quickly the animals were able to recover after atrazine withdrawal,” says lead author Chad Foradori via e-mail correspondence. “But perhaps we should not have been because previous work from other laboratories have shown that atrazine is cleared from the blood and brain of the rodent by 24 hours.” 
This is one of the first studies to show that this complex signalling pathway resumed normal function so quickly. It remains to be determined if similar effects of acute atrazine exposure occur in animals whose gonads have not been removed or in humans.
The impact of atrazine exposure on the development and function of the reproductive system has historically been controversial. Some of the earliest studies to look at this issue found evidence for abnormalities in frogs. More recent studies have documented effects in mammals as well.
In 2004, partially as a result of this evidence, the European Union banned the use of atrazine. Currently, the US Environmental Protection Agency considers the animal data to be insufficient to determine if atrazine could cause reproductive problems in humans.
“These findings suggest to us that atrazine’s primary site of action is the brain but its inhibitory effects are transient in nature” said Foradori.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/atrazine-acts-in-the-brain-to-disrupt-ovulation/

90,000 flu deaths: Where did that number come from?

The estimate, released Tuesday, draws on analysis of how viruses operate, as well as their history. But it's a 'possibility' not a prediction, experts caution.

ATLANTA - The warning is dire: Up to 90,000 "possible" deaths from a potential swine flu outbreak.
But how did the president's science advisers, who came up with the number, reach that estimate?
It is based on complicated models of how such illnesses are transmitted, how they mutate, how prepared the healthcare system is, and what's known from the patterns of past flu epidemics, such as the ones in 1918, 1957, and 1968.
It even taps the so-called "virus detectives," a branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that tracks, in the best Sherlock Holmes manner, the threats to America's health – often traveling to remote parts of the world to study outbreaks.
The problem with dire warnings, though, is that the complacency scientists are in part trying to break may be caused by the very studies they tout – the crying wolf syndrome. The avian bird flu predictions in 2005 included estimates of millions dead. Worldwide, 282 people died.
Accordingly, after swine flu fears abated this spring, only 1 in 8 Americans is now worried "a great deal" about the virus, according to an ABC News-Washington Post poll this week.
"Scientists walk a very fine line in how much information do we give: How much do we want to make people aware versus how much do we want to downplay it?" says Sarah Bass, an expert in health-risk communication at Temple University in Philadelphia.
UNDERSTANDING THE PAST TO PREDICT THE FUTURE
In Tuesday's report, released by President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, the 90,000 deaths figure was couched as a "possibility" rather than a prediction. Annually, about 36,000 Americans die of the regular flu, according to CDC estimates.
The CDC said Tuesday that the numbers should be approached cautiously. "We don't necessarily see this as a likely scenario," Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told the New York Times.
Modern models are, in large part, based on data gleaned from past flu pandemics, including how viruses mutate to deadlier forms. But an August article in the Journal of the American Medical Association points out that past assumptions about, for example, the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic may be overstated.
Scientists have suggested that the 1918 flu was particularly deadly because it mutated late in the season, and flu models have taken that into account. But the authors of the August article – virologists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Md. – pieced together the genetics of the 1918 flu and found that that model might not be correct.
Instead, they say that there's cause to hope for "a more indolent pandemic course and fewer deaths" than in previous outbreaks.
" I think it's very difficult and perhaps a disservice to assume that a new pandemic is going to behave in a way like 1918," National Institute virologist Jeffrey Taubenberger told the Canadian Press  One problem for today's flu detectives is that worldwide data is not complete since the event is ongoing. That means they have to rely on older data to fill in the blanks.
"What you have is probably a very good model," says Walter Dowdle, the former acting director of the CDC in Atlanta. "The problem is, does it apply to the present? There is a dilemma in trying to create a model at the same time an event is happening."
But he adds: "I don't think people are exaggerating the problem to create demand. When people make these predictions, it's based on what they consider genuine science."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0827/p02s04-usgn.html#

Our Time: Broccoli Fights Arthritis?

The Orange County Register, Calif. 08-25-09
The older I get, the more I resent reports about breakthrough scientific research that might ward off aging.
Because the reports always conclude that the research is far from over and it will be years before we find out if some sort of gene therapy or tree bark or artificial synthetic medicine will keep my joints from becoming arthritic.
Reality is some of those joints are already painfully arthritic and about the only relief I have is through ibuprofen tablets or acupuncture or laser treatment or broccoli.
Yes, broccoli.
George H.W. Bush banned it from the White House menu, but from now on, I'm up to my plates full of the stuff.
The Baltimore Sun reports new scientific evidence suggesting a chemical in broccoli might rejuvenate the immune system enough to ward off common diseases of aging.
Researchers at UCLA say sulforaphane, a phytonutrient in broccoli, activates antioxidant pathways at the cellular level.
So, the report says, injected into the dendritic cells (that's the immune cells in the skin) of old mice, the sulforaphane flipped on a set of antioxidant genes and enzymes sufficiently to fight free radicals of oxygen to a standstill.
Old mice became new mice. Broccoli might protect the immune system from such common aging miseries as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and degenerative joint disease (that's arthritis to me). And in the liver, it induces protection that detoxifies carcinogenic substances.
Is there anything broccoli can't do?
OK. Taste good. I'm with the 41st president on that one. There are some vegetables I've had enough of and broccoli is one of them.
Of course, I tend to feel the same way about cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and cabbage.
The fact that so many of us disdain these vegetables undoubtedly explains why most of us age, ache and grow old.
Food does indeed help forestall some symptoms and advancements of aging, as we've reported over the years.
Among those most beneficial are olive oil, yogurt, fish, nuts, grapes, blueberries.
Then there are the times when food can be your enemy, the one thing you should avoid. And I'm not just talking about obesity.
Honestly, of course it makes sense to watch what you eat. To stay within the good nutrition boundaries of low fat, chicken and fish, vegetables and fruit. Watch the red meat and the coffee.
It also makes sense to have some comfort foods - some flavors and textures that make eating all that broccoli worthwhile.
My bachelor uncle, Michael Glenn, knew about comfort foods.
He was 93 when he lay in a Florida hospital, potentially near death.
Everything he ate was deadly, the physicians said. He had pneumonia and they could not rid his body of the disease.
His time was limited, they acknowledged. If he ate anything, he would die in days. He might extend his life a few weeks if he was fed through a tube.
They explained all this to my uncle, leaving it up to him to make the decision.
"What would you like?" the doctors asked.
"A chocolate milkshake," my uncle said.
There are times when broccoli just doesn't do it.
http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=8670&Section=Disease

Tea consumers may have younger biological age

Nutraingredients.com, 25-Aug-2009

The cells of regular tea drinkers may have a younger biological age than cells from non-drinkers, according to new research from China.
Researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong looked at the length of telomeres, DNA sequences at the end of chromosomes that shorten as cells replicate and age.
The ageing and lifespan of normal, healthy cells are linked to the so-called telomerase shortening mechanism, which limits cells to a fixed number of divisions. During cell replication, the telomeres function by ensuring the cell's chromosomes do not fuse with each other or rearrange, which can lead to cancer. Elizabeth Blackburn, a telomere pioneer at the University of California San Francisco, likened telomeres to the ends of shoelaces, without which the lace would unravel.
With each replication the telomeres shorten, and when the telomeres are totally consumed, the cells are destroyed (apoptosis). Previous studies have also reported that telomeres are highly susceptible to oxidative stress. Some experts have noted that telomere length may be a marker of biological ageing.
"The antioxidative properties of tea and its constituent nutrients may protect telomeres from oxidative damage in the normal ageing process," wrote the authors in the British Journal of Nutrition.
The Hong Kong-based researchers, led by Ruth Chan, noted that the telomeres of people who drank an average of three cups of tea per day were about 4.6 kilobases longer than people who drank an average of a quarter of a cup a day.
This average difference in the telomere length corresponds to “approximately a difference of 5 years of life”, wrote the researchers, led by Ruth Chan.
Dr Chan told NutraIngredients that "Chinese tea" in their study refers to both black and green tea, but added: "Our data showed that majority of Chinese tea consumed by our subjects were of green tea".
Tea break
Green tea contains between 30 and 40 per cent of water-extractable polyphenols, while black tea (green tea that has been oxidized by fermentation) contains between 3 and 10 per cent.
The four primary polyphenols found in fresh tealeaves are epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate, and epicatechin.
Study details
The study’s findings are based on the telomere lengths of 976 Chinese men and 1,030 Chinese women aged over 65. The participants’ dietary habits were evaluated using a food frequency questionnaire.
Overall, only tea consumption was associated with telomere length. The highest intakes, three cups or 750 millilitres per day, was associated with significantly longer telomere lengths, compared to people who drank 70 millilitres per day or less, said the researchers.
Multivitamins, too?
Recently, researchers from the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences reported that telomere length was longer in regular multivitamin users in their cohort of 586 women aged between 35 and 74.
Writing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the US-based researchers noted that theirs was the “first epidemiologic study of multivitamin use and telomere length.
“Regular multivitamin users tend to follow a healthy lifestyle and have a higher intake of micronutrients, which sometimes makes it difficult to interpret epidemiologic observations on multivitamin use,” they said.
Source: British Journal of Nutrition Published online ahead of print, doi:10.1017/S0007114509991383
"Chinese tea consumption is associated with longer telomere length in elderly Chinese men" Authors: R. Chan, J. Woo, E. Suen, J. Leung, N. Tang
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Tea-consumers-may-have-younger-biological-age

Melon extract linked to cardiovascular benefits: Study

Nutraingredients.com, 25-Aug-2009

Daily consumption of an antioxidant-rich melon extract may lower cholesterol levels and prevent hardening of the arteries, according to a study with hamsters fed a high fat diet.
Consumption of the commercially-available extract Extramel, produced by France’s Bionov, in combination with a high-fat diet was associated with a reduction in cholesterol levels and non-HDL cholesterol, compared to animals fed only the high-fat diet, according to findings published in Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases.
“This study provides evidence for the first time that dietary supplementation of amelon juice concentrate rich in SOD protects against diet-induced oxidative stress and atherosclerosis in hypercholesterolemic hamsters, and no toxicity or evidence of other unwanted pharmacological effects of Extramel was noted at either levels of supplementation,” wrote the researchers, led by Jean-Max Rouanet from the University of Montpellier.
“This indicates that at the low doses used here Extramel is a safe nutraceutical supplement,” they added.
The melon-extract is a rich source of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD). Dubbed 'the enzyme of life' when first discovered in 1968, it is the first antioxidant mobilised by the cell for defence. It is thought to be more powerful than antioxidant vitamins as it activates the body's production of its own antioxidants, including catalase and glutathione peroxidase.
Study details
In collaboration with researchers from BioNov, the University Hopsital Gui de Chauliac (Montpellier), and the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Lapeyronie (Montpellier), the University of Montpellier researchers divided 60 hamsters into five groups. One group consumed a standard diet, while the other four consumed a high-fat diet supplemented with one of four doses of Extramel – 0, 0.7, 2.8, or 5.6 mg per day.
Dr Rouanet told NutraIngredients that hamsters were used because their development of atherosclerosis is similar to humans.
After 12 weeks, the highest dose of the melon-extract was associated with a 48 per cent reduction in total plasma cholesterol, and a 53 per cent reduction in non-HDL cholesterol, compared to the high-fat diet only group.
A reduction in the area of fatty streaks in the aorta of 49 to 85 per cent, said the researchers. Furthermore, production of the superoxide anion in the heart and liver were reduced by 45 and 67 per cent, respectively.
“These findings support the view that chronic consumption of melon juice extract rich in SOD has potential beneficial effects with respect to the development of atherosclerosis and liver steatosis, emphasizing its use as potential dietary therapy,” wrote the researchers.
“Investigation is warranted to define the mechanisms by which Extramel protects,” they concluded.
Source: Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases published online ahead of print, doi:
“An SOD rich melon extract Extramel prevents aortic lipids and liver steatosis in diet-induced model of atherosclerosis” Authors: K. Decorde, E. Ventura, D. Lacan, J. Ramos, J.-P. Cristol, J.-M. Rouanet
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Melon-extract-linked-to-cardiovascular-benefits-Study

Heart group draws hard line on sugar intake
Last Updated: 2009-08-25 10:00:29 -0400 (Reuters Health)
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Americans need to cut back dramatically on sugar consumption, the American Heart Association said on Monday in a recommendation that is likely to rile food and beverage companies.
The group said women should eat no more than 100 calories of added processed sugar per day, or six teaspoons (25 grams), while most men should keep it to just 150 calories or nine teaspoons (37.5 grams).
That's far below the 22 teaspoons (90 grams) or 355 calories of added sugar consumed by the average American each day, according to a 2004 government survey.
"For the first time we've created specific recommendations about the amount of sugars that can be consumed in a heart-healthy diet," Rachel Johnson of the University of Vermont, lead author of the policy statement published in the journal Circulation, said in a telephone interview.
The researchers took particular aim at the estimated $115 billion U.S. market for soft drinks, which Johnson said represent the No. 1 source of added sugars in the American diet.
Johnson said U.S. labels on packaged foods do not distinguish between naturally occurring or added sugars, but she said anything labeled "syrup" in the ingredients list is likely an added sugar.
Too much sugar not only makes Americans fat but also is a key culprit in diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke, according to the report.
U.S. Department of Agriculture dietary guidelines recommend taking in less food or drink with added sugars but do not give specific calorie limits.
The Sugar Association, a U.S. sugar industry group, said in a statement it was "very disappointed" with the report, which infers a direct correlation between sugar intake and heart health, and noted that "very few of the cited references by the AHA are directly related to sugars and heart health impacts."
PepsiCo and Coca-Cola Co referred calls to the American Beverage Association, while Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
The American Beverage Association said sugar-sweetened drinks do not pose a particular health risk.
"Like many foods, soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages are a source of calories, but in and of themselves, they are not a unique risk factor for obesity or other negative health outcomes -- including heart disease," Dr. Maureen Storey, a spokeswoman for the group, said in a statement.
LIQUID CALORIES
While the heart experts said no single food or food group is to blame for the nation's obesity epidemic, they said many studies have shown a correlation between higher intake of sweetened beverages and obesity.
"Over the past 30 years, total calorie intake has increased by an average of 150 to 300 calories per day, and approximately 50 percent of this increase comes from liquid calories (primarily sugar-sweetened beverages)," the report reads.
Daily consumption of sweetened soft drinks rose 70 percent between 1970 and 2000. One 12-ounce (0.35 liter) can of regular soda contains roughly 130 calories, which exceeds a woman's daily discretionary sugar budget.
Johnson said sweetened foods and beverages displace more nutritious foods and beverages for many people.
The food industry often blames increases in obesity on a lack of exercise. Johnson said if people want to eat more sweet treats, they need to increase their sugar budget by becoming more physically active.
Storey of the beverage association said both obesity and heart disease are complex problems with no single cause.
"What matters most is balancing the calories from the foods and beverages we eat and drink with regular physical activity," she said.
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/08/25/eline/links/20090825elin008.html

Another Danger from High Glycemic Foods: Research Shows They Damage Arteries

S. L. Baker, NaturalNews.com August 25, 2009 

(NaturalNews) Anyone interested in healthy and nutritious foods has probably heard that whole grains are far better for you than the processed variety like white bread and sugar-laden cereals. There are several reasons for this, including the fact whole foods tend to be richer in fiber and they also have low glycemic indexes. That means they keep blood sugar and insulin levels steady without wide fluctuations. But a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology concludes there's another important reason to avoid high glycemic foods like white bread and corn flakes. For the first time, scientists have documented how eating these foods can directly damage artery walls and cause cardiac problems.

"It's very hard to predict heart disease," Dr. Michael Shechter of Tel Aviv University's Sackler School of Medicine and the Heart Institute of Sheba Medical Center, said in a statement to the media. "But doctors know that high glycemic foods rapidly increase blood sugar. Those who binge on these foods have a greater chance of sudden death from heart attack. Our research connects the dots, showing the link between diet and what's happening in real time in the arteries."

For his study, Dr Shechter and colleagues worked with 56 healthy volunteers who were divided into four groups. One group ate cornflake cereal mixed with milk, a second consumed a pure sugar mixture, the third group ate bran flakes and the last group took water (as a placebo control). Over the course of four weeks, Dr. Shechter applied brachial reactive testing to the research subjects in each group. This test, a clinical and research technique pioneered by Dr. Shechter's laboratory, uses a blood pressure type cuff on the arm that is able to visualize what happens inside arteries before, during and after eating various foods.

Before any of the study participants ate, the function of their arteries was essentially the same. After eating, however, all except the placebo group had reduced arterial functioning -- especially the research subjects who ate cornflakes and sugar. In fact, the testing documented that during the consumption of these foods high in sugar, there was a temporary and sudden dysfunction in the endothelium, the thin layer of cells that line the inside of arteries and reduce turbulence as blood flows throughout the entire circulatory system.

This is a critical finding because, when repeated over time, a sudden expansion of artery walls can cause a host of negative effects on healthincluding damage to endothelial cells. That can reduce elasticity in arteries, resulting in heart disease or even sudden death. In fact, according to Dr. Shechter, endothelium dysfunction can be traced back to almost every disorder and disease in the body. 

"We knew high glycemic foods were bad for the heart. Now we have a mechanism that shows how," Dr. Shechter explained in the press statement. "Foods like cornflakes, white bread, French fries, and sweetened soda all put undue stress on our arteries. We've explained for the first time how high glycemic carbs can affect the progression of heart disease." 

Dr. Shechter agrees with natural health advocates who have long advised staying away from highly processed, high glycemic foods and eating a diet rich in low glycemic whole foods such as oatmeal, fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts. In addition to helping protect your heart, this style of eating has other advantages. According to the Harvard School of Public Health web site, these healthy foods are loaded with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and a host of important phytonutrients. 

On the other hand, white bread, white rice, pastries, sugared sodas, and other highly processed foods tear down instead of build health -- they contribute to weight gain, interfere with weight loss, and promote diabetes and heart disease. As reported earlier in Natural News, processed foods have also been linked with an increased risk for cancer (http://www.naturalnews.com/022025.html) and recent studies indicate many processed foodstuffs, from bread to candy bars, may be contaminated with toxic mercury, too (http://www.naturalnews.com/025442_m...).
http://www.naturalnews.com/026913_foods_health_sugar.html

Green Tea Nutrients Prevent Leukemia

David Gutierrez, NaturalNews.com August 25, 2009

(NaturalNews) One of the potent antioxidants found in green tea may slow and possibly even reverse the progress of leukemia.

Scientists have been aware since 1970s that green tea can help fight cancer, as demonstrated by lower cancer rates in countries with high consumption of the beverage. In 2004, a study showed that the naturally occurring tea chemical epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) could actually kill leukemia cells.

In a new study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers from the Mayo Clinic found a significant improvement in the symptoms ofcancer patients treated with EGCG extract.

Researcher Tait D. Shanafelt and colleagues became interested in carrying out a clinical trial when they noticed that chronic lymphocytic leukemia(CLL) patients self-medicating with tea polyphenols actually began showing signs of improvement. They designed a study in which 33 CLL patients were treated with between 400 and 2,000 milligrams of EGCG extract twice per day.

"We found not only that patients tolerated the green tea extract at very high doses, but that many of them saw regression to some degree of their CLL," Shanafelt said.

Treatment with EGCG led to noticeable decreases in two symptoms of CLL -- increased white blood cell (lymphocyte) count and enlarged lymph nodes. Lymphocyte levels decreased by 20 percent or more in 15 of 33 patients, an improvement that lasted for two months in 11 of them. Of 12 patients who began the study with swollen lymph nodes, 11 experienced a 50 percent or greater decrease in swelling.

Few side effects were observed from the treatment.

CLL is currently incurable, and is aggressive and fatal in 50 percent of patients. There is also currently no therapy capable of slowing or halting the progression of the disease.

The researchers expressed hope that EGCG could be used to stabilize early-stage CLL, increasing survival time at worst and improving the effectiveness of other treatments at best.
http://www.naturalnews.com/z026911_green_tea_EGCG_leukemia.html

Strontium, Not Calcium, Builds Strong Bones

Melanie Grimes, NaturalNews.com August 25, 2009

(NaturalNews) Calcium is known to prevent broken bones. But a study conducted on nurses from Harvard University showed that calcium was not an important nutrient for bone density. However, the mineral strontium has been shown to prevent bone loss and bone fractures. Over ten million Americans have weak bones while we consume the most calcium of any peoples in the world. The Japanese have half our rate of fractures and consume only one-third the calcium Americans do. Chinese rarely fracture bones and consume very little calcium.

The Harvard Nurses Health Study was conducted over a twelve-year period. Women were given 900 mg of calcium a day. Those who consumed the calcium had twice the amount of hip fractures as a group who only consumed 450 mg a day. Other studies concurred. A study of over 36,000 women gave one group a thousand mg a day of calcium and the other group a placebo. With both groups also taking vitamin D, the results were the same for each group. No change with the calcium supplementation.

Strontium usage for bone density has been in use since 1959. There are over 200 published studies on strontium and its effects on the health and formation of bone. The renowned Mayo Clinic conducted a study that showed great results. Recent studies have shown similar results. In women over the age of 80, adding strontium supplements decreased their risk of bone fracture by 59%. The New England Journal of Medicine also published a study that showed risk of fracture reduction of 49%. A control group in this study consumed both calcium and vitamin D, but did not show any reduction in the amount of bone fractures compared to the dramatic improvement in the group consuming strontium. In another study, height loss related to aging was reduced by 20%.

Strontium works in the body by stimulating the growth of new bone. It does this by attracting the other bone building minerals, such as calcium and magnesium. McGill University in Montreal conducted a study with supplemental strontium and showed that in just six months, study participants increased bone formation by 172%.

One of the best ways to keep bones strong is by exercise. Weight bearing exercise and weight training are great ways to build both strong muscles and strong bones. And add strontium to the diet. Hormones also have an effect on bone density and a bone density test can identify those in need of additional nutritional supplementation.

Strontium supplementation can be started at any age and there are no known side effects.
http://www.naturalnews.com/026912_calcium_strontium_fractures.html

How to Fight Back Against Genetically Modified Foods

Aaron Turpen, NaturalNews.com August 25, 2009

(NaturalNews) With genetically modified (GM) foods dominating the United States' corn and soybean crop today, Monsanto - the company most responsible for GM foods - has also dominated most of South Africa`s seed crops as well. As reported by Barbara Minton here at Natural News in April, a huge crop failure there is directly attributed to this lack of seed diversity. So how do Americans, and people world wide, fight back against this takeover of food sources by GM foods? To answer that, the GMOs themselves as well as the way the company who makes them operates should be understood. That will show how real, grassroots, actions that everyone can participate in will work to stop this monopolization of the world's food.

How GM Foods and GMO Works
The most common modification that Monsanto makes to seeds is to create HT-ready crops ("herbicide tolerant" crops). These are crops that are able to withstand Monsanto`s other product, RoundUp, to a strong degree. This increases crop yield by allowing the farmer to spray liberally with the RoundUp herbicide to kill weeds and some parasites.

The problem? Well, obviously, all that spraying can`t be good for anybody. It also is severely destroying seed diversity in the agricultural markets - over 90% of American soybean crops are now genetically modified organisms (GMO). About 70% of our corn crops are also GMOs.1

Now that Monsanto has a virtual monopoly on those seeds, they`ve announced that they`re raising seed prices by up to 42%, as reported in Bloomberg on August 13.2

Further, as Ethan Huff pointed out in his article here at Natural News, there is plenty of reason to question the health problems associated with GM crops.

Currently, Monsanto is working to corner the market on GMO wheat crops in the U.S. If their progress there is anything like it`s been with corn andsoy, they could hold 70% or more of the seed market within fifteen years.

Most of the reasons for not liking GMO crops have been outlined already, but for more information, you can check the Natural News archives on GMOs here.

Monsanto`s gangster tactics can be seen in the documentary movie The World According to Monsanto by Twilight Earth.3 This is how they`ve gained their monopoly.

Fighting Back Against Monsanto and GM Crops
First and foremost, stop financially supporting Monsanto as much as possible. This means scouting out and avoiding GMO foods on the grocery store shelf, not buying Monsanto`s products, and more. As Shelly Roche of Bytestyle.tv says, "Vote With Your Fork!"

Shelly has a Roundup Challenge in which we the people can fight back by not purchasing Monsanto`s number one consumer product, RoundUp. You can find out more about that here. She also has a short list of ways to identify GMO foods in the grocery store so you can avoid purchasing them.

The Institute for Responsible Technology has a No GMO Challenge you can participate in right now as well as a convenient 9-page guide you candownload or order in print for helping identify GMO foods and food sources in products.

Finally, both of the current "Food Safety Act" bills in Congress are extremely GM-friendly and should be opposed for that and many other reasons. They`ve been covered well by Ethan Huff here at Natural News: Food Safety Health - Food Safety Freedom

These are the easiest ways you can participate in fighting back against GMOs. Spread the information about GMOs to as many people as you can and participate in local food markets and other sources of non-corporate food production.

Working together, everyone in the world, not just Americans, can fight to keep food and nutritional choices in our own hands and not at the mercy of bureaucrats and Big Agra.
http://www.naturalnews.com/026908_food_GMO_Monsanto.html

Herbicide Found in Water May Pose Greater Danger
WASHINGTON POST
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 
CHICAGO, Aug. 24 -- Drinking water containing a common herbicide could pose a greater public health risk than previously thought because regular municipal monitoring doesn't detect frequent spikes in the chemical's levels, according to a report released Monday by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The report documented spikes in atrazine in the water supplies of Midwestern and Southern towns in agricultural areas, where the herbicide is applied to the vast majority of corn, sorghum and sugar cane fields.
Atrazine, an endocrine disrupter, can interfere with the body's hormonal activity and the development of reproductive organs. The Environmental Protection Agency looks at annual average levels of the chemical in drinking-water systems, but the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) says this misses spikes likely to occur after rain and springtime application of the herbicide.
"Our biggest concern is early-life-stage development," said NRDC senior scientist Jennifer Sass. "If there's a disruption during that time, it becomes hard-wired into the system. These endocrine disrupters act in the body at extremely low levels. These spikes matter."
She said the chemical could also be linked to menstrual problems and endocrine-related cancers in adults.
Scientists with atrazine manufacturer Syngenta called the NRDC study alarmist and said the spikes fall within one- and 10-day limits that the EPA considers safe.
"Atrazine is one of the best studied, most thoroughly regulated molecules on the planet," said Syngenta toxicologist Tim Pastoor. "Those momentary spikes are not going to be injurious to human health."
Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, municipal water supplies are typically tested for chemicals, including atrazine, four times a year. The EPA considers an annual average atrazine level below 3 parts per billion as safe for human consumption. But biweekly data collected by the EPA from 139 municipal water systems found that atrazine was present 90 percent of the time and that 54 water systems had one-time spikes above 3 parts per billion in 2003 and 2004, according to an analysis by the NRDC.
NRDC scientists and lawyers argue that the EPA's limits are too lenient, given studies showing the effects of low levels of atrazine on rats and other animals and the fact that it is nearly impossible to epidemiologically trace the chemical's effects on humans.
Steve Owens, assistant administrator for the EPA's office of prevention, pesticides and toxic substances, said the agency will review its atrazine policies as part of a larger reassessment of how chemicals and pesticides are regulated.
"The Obama EPA will take a hard look at atrazine and other substances," he said. "This thorough review will rely on transparency and sound science, including independent scientific peer review. We will continue to closely track new scientific developments and will determine whether a change in our regulatory position is appropriate."
Atrazine can be removed by carbon filters at water treatment plants or in households. Many water treatment plants use such filters, but others do not. The Washington Aqueduct, which treats water from the Potomac River for about 1 million Washington area customers, does not treat for atrazine because it is rarely found at levels over 0.5 parts per billion in the water.
The NRDC is asking the EPA to step up its atrazine monitoring and make the results public. The group is also encouraging farmers to greatly reduce or end use of the herbicide. Atrazine is effectively banned in the European Union, though Pastoor said a similar chemical, terbuthylazine, is widely used in Europe. He noted that atrazine, introduced in 1958, is especially attractive to farmers because it lasts for about 40 days in the soil and can be applied before, during or after planting. It is considered conducive to no-till practices that reduce a field's carbon footprint.
Atrazine is also used on lawns and golf courses in the South, and Sass said children playing on treated grass could be dangerously exposed to it. It can also concentrate in rain and fog.
Since 2003, the EPA has monitored atrazine levels in surface and ground water in 40 watersheds in the central and southern United States. The NRDC says the results raise grave concerns for wildlife and ecosystems in these areas and in the Gulf of Mexico, where much of the agricultural runoff from the Midwest ends up. Atrazine has been found to cause limb deformities and hermaphroditism in frogs at concentrations as low as 0.1 parts per billion. It is also known to kill algae and micro-organisms that make up the base of aquatic food chains, and in conjunction with other pesticides and herbicides, it suppresses animals' immune systems.
In 2003 the NRDC filed a lawsuit charging that the EPA violated the Endangered Species Act during the atrazine re-registration process by failing to adequately consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service about how the herbicide could affect about 20 endangered species of frogs, fish, turtles and other reptiles and amphibians.
A 2008 letter from the Fish and Wildlife Service says atrazine could harm endangered Alabama sturgeon and Chesapeake Bay dwarf wedgemussel, since it is known to damage such organisms and affect food supplies, even at lower levels than what the EPA considers safe.
Negotiations between the Fish and Wildlife Service and the EPA could result in different limits or requirements for atrazine.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/24/AR2009082403051.html

Acupuncture May Bring Relief For Common Condition In Women, Study Suggests

ScienceDaily (Aug. 25, 2009) — Polycystic ovary syndrome, a common condition among women, can be relieved by the use of acupuncture and exercise. This is the conclusion of a recent study at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Nearly 10% of women of reproductive age have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The syndrome expresses itself as a large number of small immature cysts on the ovaries that cause a disturbance in the production of hormones and an increase in the secretion of the male sex hormone. This means that many women with the condition do not ovulate normally, and the syndrome may lead to infertility. The women run an increased risk of becoming obese, developing type 2 diabetes, or developing cardio-vascular disease.
“We do not know for certain what causes the condition, despite it being so common. We have seen that women with the syndrome often have high activity in that part of the nervous system that we cannot consciously control, known as the 'sympathetic nervous system'. We believe that this may be an important underlying factor in the syndrome,” says Elisabet Stener-Victorin, who has led the research at the Sahlgrenska Academy.
During the study, one group of women with polycystic ovary syndrome received acupuncture regularly for four months. They received a type of acupuncture known as 'electro-acupuncture', in which the needles are stimulated with a weak low-frequency electric current, similar to that developed during muscular work. A second group of women were provided with heart rate monitors and instructed to exercise at least three times a week. A control group was informed about the importance of exercise and a healthy diet, but was given no other specific instructions.
The study showed that activity in the sympathetic nervous system was lower in the women who received acupuncture and in those who took regular exercise than it was in the control group. The acupuncture treatment brought further benefits.
“Those who received acupuncture found that their menstruation became more normal. We could also see that their levels of testosterone became significantly lower, and this is an important observation, since elevated testosterone levels are closely connected with the increased activity in the sympathetic nervous system of women,” says Elisabet Stener-Victorin.
Elisabet Stener-Victorin, Elizabeth Jedel, Per Olof Jansson and Yrsa Bergmann Sverrisdottir. Low-frequency electroacupuncture and physical exercise decrease high muscle sympathetic nerve activity in polycystic ovary syndrome. American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 2009; DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00197.2009
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090820124044.htm

Daylight Could Help Control Our Weight

ScienceDaily (Aug. 25, 2009) — Exciting research into Brown adipose tissue (BAT) — brown fat, which is found in abundance in hibernating animals and newborn babies — could lead to new ways of preventing obesity.
Studies have already shown that BAT activity in adults is reduced with obesity. Therefore, promoting BAT function could prevent or reduce obesity in some people.
New research, led by Michael Symonds, Professor of Developmental Physiology in the School of Clincal Sciences at The University of Nottingham, has shown — for the first time — that daylight is a major factor in controlling BAT activity.
Professor Symonds said: “Our research has suggested a previously unknown mechanism for controlling BAT function in humans and this could potentially lead to new treatments for the prevention or reversal of obesity.”
Winter was traditionally a time of the year that was accompanied with increased thermal demands and thus energy expenditure, but the body’s requirements for BAT has been reduced in recent times by central heating plus global warming. BAT is capable of producing up to 300 times more heat per unit mass compared with all other tissues.
The research, published in the journal Diabetes, studied well over 3500 patients. The presence of BAT was documented and correlated with monthly changes in daylight and ambient temperature. Their results showed that BAT was more common in females and that changes in BAT activity were more closely associated with day light than ambient temperature.
BAT is activated by the cold and is unique in being able to produce very large amounts of heat — but little is known about the main factors that regulate the amount of BAT in our bodies. Professor Symonds said: “Our research demonstrates a very strong seasonal variation in the presence of BAT. The study focused on the impact of daylight and ambient temperature as these are two key factors in determining BAT function in small mammals. Our exciting new findings may help us find novel interventions aimed at promoting BAT activity particularly in the winter.”
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090821135024.htm

Share And Share Alike: How The Modern World Affects Our Tendency To Share

ScienceDaily (Aug. 25, 2009) — From giving directions to a stranger to cooking a meal for loved ones, sharing is an essential part of the human experience. A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research unravels the complexities of sharing and examines how changes in our culture affect sharing.
"Sharing is a fundamental consumer behavior that we have either tended to overlook or to confuse with commodity exchange and gift giving," writes author Russell Belk (York University, Toronto). In his study, Belk explores differences between sharing, gift giving, and exchanging marketplace commodities.
"Rather than absolute distinctions, I see these as categories that share fuzzy boundaries," writes Belk. "Although both sharing and gift-giving have some elements that often (but not always) make them more communal, loving, and caring than marketplace exchange, sharing differs from gift-giving in that it is non-reciprocal. The infant who receives his or her mother's nurturing care and sustenance does not incur a debt. Nor does the child who receives food, shelter, and love from parents receive an itemized bill upon leaving the nuclear family home."
Societal changes can affect the nature of sharing, notes Belk. Examples of threats to sharing may be the individualization of family phones and meals, the decline of free public education, and the shrinking of public broadcasting.
On the other hand, the Internet provides many healthy models for increased sharing. Belk notes that forums, bulletin boards, blogs, social networking sites, wikis, open-source software development projects, and websites where people share expertise, advice, and opinions all contribute to a sharing community.
Belk provides some suggestions for promoting sharing in today's world. "I suggest that two keys to promoting contemporary sharing are an expanded sense of self that embraces other people more than other things and a greater sense of 'sharing in,' where possessions are seen as ours rather than mine and yours," Belk concludes.
Russell Belk. Sharing. Journal of Consumer Research, Published online August 20, 2009
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090824182443.htm

Why Low Vitamin D Raises Heart Disease Risks In Diabetics

ScienceDaily (Aug. 25, 2009) — Low levels of vitamin D are known to nearly double the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with diabetes, and researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis now think they know why.
They have found that diabetics deficient in vitamin D can't process cholesterol normally, so it builds up in their blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. The new research has identified a mechanism linking low vitamin D levels to heart disease risk and may lead to ways to fix the problem, simply by increasing levels of vitamin D.
"Vitamin D inhibits the uptake of cholesterol by cells called macrophages," says principal investigator Carlos Bernal-Mizrachi, M.D., a Washington University endocrinologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. "When people are deficient in vitamin D, the macrophage cells eat more cholesterol, and they can't get rid of it. The macrophages get clogged with cholesterol and become what scientists call foam cells, which are one of the earliest markers of atherosclerosis."
Macrophages are dispatched by the immune system in response to inflammation and often are activated by diseases such as diabetes. Bernal-Mizrachi and his colleagues believe that in diabetic patients with inadequate vitamin D, macrophages become loaded with cholesterol and eventually stiffen blood vessels and block blood flow.
Bernal-Mizrachi, an assistant professor of medicine and of cell biology and physiology, studied macrophage cells taken from people with and without diabetes and with and without vitamin D deficiency. His team, led by research assistants Jisu Oh and Sherry Weng, M.D., exposed the cells to cholesterol and to high or low vitamin D levels. When vitamin D levels were low in the culture dish, macrophages from diabetic patients were much more likely to become foam cells.
In the Aug. 25 issue of the journal Circulation, which currently is available online, the team reports that vitamin D regulates signaling pathways linked both to uptake and to clearance of cholesterol in macrophages.
"Cholesterol is transported through the blood attached to lipoproteins such as LDL, the 'bad' cholesterol," Bernal-Mizrachi explains. "As it is stimulated by oxygen radicals in the vessel wall, LDL becomes oxidated, and macrophages eat it uncontrollably. LDL cholesterol then clogs the macrophages, and that's how atherosclerosis begins."
That process becomes accelerated when a person is deficient in vitamin D. And people with type 2 diabetes are very likely to have this deficiency. Worldwide, approximately one billion people have insufficient vitamin D levels, and in women with type 2 diabetes, the likelihood of low vitamin D is about a third higher than in women of the same age who don't have diabetes.
The skin manufactures vitamin D in response to ultraviolet light exposure. But in much of the United States, people don't make enough vitamin D during the winter — when the sun's rays are weaker and more time is spent indoors.
The good news is when human macrophages are placed in an environment with plenty of vitamin D, their uptake of cholesterol is suppressed, and they don't become foam cells. Bernal-Mizrachi believes it may be possible to slow or reverse the development of atherosclerosis in patients with diabetes by helping them regain adequate vitamin D levels.
"There is debate about whether any amount of sun exposure is safe, so oral vitamin D supplements may work best," he says, "but perhaps if people were exposed to sunlight only for a few minutes at a time, that may be an option, too."
He has launched a new study of diabetics who are both deficient in vitamin D and have high blood pressure. He wants to learn whether replacing vitamin D will lower blood pressure and improve blood flow. For this study, Bernal-Mizrachi is recruiting patients with type 2 diabetes ages 30 to 80 who are not taking insulin to control their blood sugar. Study volunteers also must have high blood pressure.
Oh J, Weng S, Felton SK, Bhandare S, Riek A, Butler B, Proctor BM, Petty M, Chen Z, Schechtman KB, Bernal-Mizrach L, Bernal-Mizrachi C. 1,25 (OH) vitamin D inhibits foam cell formation and suppresses macrophage cholesterol uptake in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Circulation, 2009; 120 (8): 687-698 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090821211007.htm

How Diarrheal Bacteria Cause Some Colon Cancers Revealed in Mouse Studies; Bug Could Be the 'H. Pylori of Colon Cancer,' Researchers Say

AScribe Newswire 08-24-09
BALTIMORE, Aug. 23 (AScribe Newswire) -- Johns Hopkins scientists say they have figured out how bacteria that cause diarrhea may also be the culprit in some colon cancers. The investigators say that strains of the common Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) dupe immune system cells into permitting runaway colon tissue inflammation, a precursor for malignant growth.
"This could be the H. pylori of colon cancer," says Johns Hopkins infectious disease specialist, Cynthia Sears, M.D., referring to the bacteria long known to cause stomach ulcers and suspected of causing the majority of stomach cancers. Her studies suggest that ETBF uses tissue inflammation to cause colon cancer in a similar way that H. pylori causes stomach tumors.
A so-called enterotoxigenic bacterium, the germ is widely known to cause diarrhea in children and adults in the developing and developed world, and a previous study in Turkey has linked it to colon cancer.
The bacteria, which colonize in the gut, cause no symptoms in some individuals, but others develop diarrhea and colon inflammation, which has been linked to cancer growth. Unlike the case with H. pylori, it is unknown whether standard antibiotics can eradicate the microbe, experts say.
To track the link between ETBF and colon cancer, the Johns Hopkins researchers conducted a series of tests in mice bred to carry mutations in a colon cancer-causing gene called APC.
Their results, published in the August 23 issue of Nature Medicine, show that mice infected with ETBF developed diarrhea which resolved quickly, but within a week, developed inflammation and small tumors in the colon. One month later, the colons were pockmarked with tumors.
Mice infected with a non-toxin producing strain of the bacteria were free of diarrhea, inflammation and tumors.
Next, Sears and the Johns Hopkins team evaluated the bacteria's effect on immune responses that may contribute to cancer development. In ETBF-infected mice, they found high levels of a protein called pStat3, which, in its normal role, acts as a signal to trigger inflammation. One of those signals activates an immune cell called T-helper 17 (Th17). Th17 cells produce molecules that have been implicated in fostering inflammation of tissues.
Th17 activity in the gut of germ-bearing mice was 100 times greater than normal, according to the investigators, and when they blocked the effects of Th17, they were able to reverse inflammation and tumor growth.
Drew Pardoll, M.D., Ph.D., an immunologist and cancer researcher at Johns Hopkins, speculates that in humans, infection with ETBF "produces a low-level inflammation that persists for a long time."
"If what we are seeing in mice holds true in humans, the chronic inflammation damages genetic material in the colon cells, allowing them to grow uncontrollably and develop into tumors earlier and more progressively than if they were not infected with ETBF," Pardoll says.
Sears first witnessed the impact of diarrheal pathogens two decades ago in a refugee camp in Thailand where children, especially, were vulnerable to infection where water sanitation is poor. Most diarrheal disease is short-lived but can be very severe, Sears says, and it is common worldwide. The ETBF microbe is found in the gut of up to 20 to 35 percent of children and adults and, according to the Turkish study, in as many as 40 percent of colon cancer patients.
Sears and Pardoll believe that ETBF may collude with other types of normal bacteria in the gut to promote cancer. The microbe itself is difficult to culture from stool specimens, according to the investigators, so they are working on blood tests to detect antibodies to the pathogen's toxin, which may show whether an individual has been exposed to it and perhaps determine who may be at risk for colon cancer.
The investigators also envision vaccines and drug therapies that neutralize the pathogen's toxin and its ability to inflame tissues.
Provisional patents for this technology have been filed.
Funding for the study was provided by the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, Bernard Schwartz, William and Betty Topercer, Dorothy Needle, Bud Swartz, and the Commonwealth Foundation.
In addition to Pardoll and Sears, research participants include Shaoguang Wu, Ki-Jong Rhee, Emilia Albesiano, Shervin Rabizadeh, Xinqun Wu, Hung-Rong Yen, David Huso, Frederick Brancati, Elizabeth Wick, Florencia McAllister, and Franck Housseau at Johns Hopkins.
http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=8669&Section=Disease

Low vitamin D raises diabetic heart risk

United Press International 08-24-09
ST. LOUIS, Aug 24, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Diabetics deficient in vitamin D can't process cholesterol so it builds in blood vessels, increasing heart attack and stroke risk, U.S. researchers said.
Principal investigator Dr. Carlos Bernal-Mizrachi, a Washington University endocrinologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, said when people are deficient in vitamin D the macrophage cells -- dispatched by the immune system in response to inflammation -- eat more cholesterol, which they can't get rid of.
"Vitamin D inhibits the uptake of cholesterol by cells called macrophages," Bernal-Mizrachi said in a statement. "The macrophages get clogged with cholesterol and become what scientists call foam cells, which are one of the earliest markers of atherosclerosis."
The researchers studied macrophage cells taken from people with and without diabetes, and with and without vitamin D deficiency. When vitamin D levels were low in the culture dish, macrophages from diabetic patients were much more likely to become foam cells.
The study, published in the journal Circulation, found vitamin D regulates signaling pathways linked both to uptake and to clearance of cholesterol in macrophages.
http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=8666&Section=Vitamins

Moving to U.S. tied to higher cancer risks
Last Updated: 2009-08-24 9:25:04 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Hispanic adults who immigrate to the United States may face higher risks of certain cancers than their native countrymen, a new study suggests.
The study, which looked at a database of cancer cases diagnosed in Florida between 1999 and 2001, found that residents of Mexican, Cuban and Puerto Rican origin had overall cancer rates that were at least 40 percent higher than those in their homelands.
But Hispanic residents were not uniform in their cancer patterns, the researchers report in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.
Those of Cuban background, for instance, were similar to non-Hispanic white Americans in regards to a number of cancers -- particularly their rates of cervical and stomach cancers, which were lower than those of other Hispanic groups.
Overall, Puerto Rican men and women had the highest rates of most forms of cancer, while Mexicans tended to have the lowest.
"Hispanics are not all the same with regard to their cancer experience," lead researcher Dr. Paulo S. Pinheiro, of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, noted in a written statement.
"Targeted interventions for cancer prevention and control should take into account the specificity of each Hispanic subgroup: Cubans, Puerto Ricans or Mexicans," he added.
For the study, Pinheiro's team analyzed more than 300,000 cases from Florida's central cancer registry, about 10 percent of which were diagnosed in Hispanic patients -- most of whom were born outside the U.S.
The total rate of various cancers was lower for Hispanic adults than for non-Hispanic white and black Americans. Among men, the rate was 11 percent and 17 percent lower than those for white and black men, respectively. Hispanic women's cancer rate was 18 percent lower than non-Hispanic white women's and 2 percent lower than that of non- Hispanic blacks.
Still, compared with data from their countries of origin, Mexican, Cuban and Puerto Rican adults all had elevated rates of cancer overall -- and of some of the most common cancers, including those of the colon, lungs, breast and prostate.
Higher rates of cancer screening and detection in the U.S. may explain part of the increases, according to the researchers, particularly in the case of prostate cancer.
But changes in environment and lifestyle are also likely at work, Pinheiro said.
Immigrants' higher smoking rates, compared with their homeland counterparts, may help account for the higher lung cancer risk, for example. Meanwhile, breast cancer risk may be affected by reproductive factors, like having fewer children or delaying childbirth -- which have been linked to increased breast cancer risk.
Changes in diet and higher rates of obesity after immigration may also be factors, the researchers note.
The findings, according to Pinheiro, suggest that doctors need to discourage Hispanic patients from adopting unhealthy habits that may be more common in the U.S. -- and that immigrants should try to hang on to the healthier parts of their lifestyle in their native countries.
SOURCE: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, August 2009.
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/08/24/eline/links/20090824elin001.html

Stressed-out coeds eat more sweets, snacks
Last Updated: 2009-08-21 13:00:09 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The urge to chow down on sweets and fast food at stressful times knows no boundaries, at least among European women.
Female first-year college students from Germany, Poland and Bulgaria all reported eating more of these types of foods if they felt stressed out, and fewer fruits and vegetables, Dr. Rafael T. Mikolajczyk of the University of Bielefeld in Germany and colleagues found.
But stress had no relationship to male students' eating habits.
There are a multitude of studies linking stress to eating unhealthy foods and eating too much. But little is known about how stress might change eating patterns in college students, among whom both stress and unhealthy eating are common.
To investigate, the researchers surveyed 696 first-year students at the University of Bielefeld, 489 at the Catholic University of Lublin in Poland, and 654 at Sofia University in Bulgaria. They included equal amounts of students from natural sciences, social sciences and languages, and law and economics.
Students were asked how frequently they ate several different types of foods, and also completed questionnaires measuring their levels of perceived stress and depressive symptoms.
Among the male students, there was no relationship between the frequency of eating certain types of foods and levels of stress or depressive symptoms.
But for the young women, those who ate more "carbohydrate-dense" foods like snacks, cookies and sweets had higher stress levels, and ate fewer fruits and vegetables. Fruit and vegetable consumption also was lower among female students who were more depressed; these women also ate less meat.
"Our findings," the researchers conclude, "suggest that interventions oriented towards perceived stress and depressive symptoms in female students should also address the issue of healthy nutrition."
"Additionally, efforts to reduce depressive symptoms and stress among female students may lead to the consumption of healthier foods and/or vice-versa."
SOURCE: Nutrition Journal, July 15, 2009.
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/08/21/eline/links/20090821elin008.html

Folic acid: Old women and children first!

Nutraingredients.com 24-Aug-2009

Look at the globe and you’d be hard pressed to find two countries further apart than Ireland and New Zealand. But they stand side-by-side on the folic acid fortification issue – it is not needed.
While babies are still being born in these two countries with birth defects (neural tube defect or NTDs), I applaud European measures not to impose mandatory fortification.
In the US, mandatory fortification of all grain products with folic acid was introduced in 1998, and has led to big drops in the incidence of NTDs.
Surely the evidence is clear? Well, no.
With manufacturers increasingly taking it upon themselves to fortify their products without any governmental prodding, and women, and consumers in general, increasingly aware of their nutritional needs, data suggests adequate levels are already being consumed.
Adding in a little extra for good measure may even be counter-productive, possibly putting the mental well-being of our elders at risk, as well as the health of our bowels.
It’s a complex and emotional debate, and one that industry and academia need to be more vocal about. Recent findings from the Netherlands and Ireland found that manufacturers are voluntarily fortifying more products. And this is having beneficial effects: On the Emerald Isle the incidence of NTDs has dropped to 0.93 per 1000 births from 1-1.5 in three years.
Public health success story
Many people are aware that folate, and folic acid (its synthetic form), is essential for reducing the incidence of NTDs in babies. Such defects occur within the first 22 to 28 days of pregnancy, when the mother-to-be is not aware she is even pregnant.
And with a sizable portion of pregnancies being unplanned (45 per cent in the US, about 30 per cent in Western Europe), there are clear benefits to ensuring women of child-bearing age are folate-replete.
My thoughts on mandatory fortification do not ignore this public health miracle. Nor am I saying that American measures are wrong and should be repealed – they were probably the right decision based on the local factors at that time. But the folic acid story is not all good news.
B-ware
Evidence shows that folic acid and folate may mask vitamin B12 deficiency in the elderly, which can have severe neurological consequences.
And then there are concerns over colorectal cancer. Epidemiological evidence suggests a slight increase in colorectal cancer rates following the introduction of fortification. Such associations have been noted in the US, Canada, and Chile.
This is an incredibly complicated, and emotive, subject. On the one hand we are reducing the number of birth defects. On the other hand, we are blunting our ability to spot B12 deficiency in our elders, as well as possibly increasing the risk of colorectal cancer in certain segments of the population.
How do you choose between ensuring the healthy development of Junior and helping grandma keep her marbles? There should be no choice – we can do both.
Follow iodine’s lead
If we follow my train of thought and close the door on mandatory fortification, what next? How do we ensure adequate intakes? A recent paper by the Health Council of the Netherlands touted an idea that demands serious consideration: Controlled voluntary fortification.
Dr Rianne Weggemans from the Health Council of the Netherlands told me that this hinges on the premise that the government reaches agreements with manufacturers on the kind of food products folic acid can be added to, with the obvious choice being staple food products, like bread and bread substitutes.
The Netherlands already has a working model of this, with agreements currently in place for iodized baker's salt, which are fortified with higher iodine levels than iodized salt used for other purposes.
And shouldn’t manufacturers also agree to simultaneous fortification with vitamin B12? Results from a Dutch double-blind, placebo-controlled trial indicated that fortifying bread with folic acid and low dose vitamin B12 is effective in improving vitamin B blood status in the elderly.
Better the devil you know, than the devil you don’t
Concern over colorectal cancer risk is a different issue. The problem here, according to Joel Mason from USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, is that high folate levels in certain people who harbour pre-cancerous or cancerous tumours may actually promote cancer.
The complex links between folate and cancer have created a “global dilemma”, he said. Indeed, a new study published in the Proceedings on the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) shows that our ability to convert folic acid to folate may be relatively slow, leading to extended exposure to unconverted folic acid.
It is not a dilemma we should shy away from. With manufacturers increasingly fortifying products voluntarily, and consumers increasing label savvy, there is no need for mandatory fortification at this point.
New Zealand and Europe may be oceans apart, but their approach to a very real issue displays a maturity and understanding of the science that shows they stand together.
Stephen Daniells is the science editor for FoodNavigator and NutraIngredients. He has been writing on nutritional and food science issues for four years. He has a PhD in chemistry from Queen’s University, Belfast. He has also worked in research in Netherlands and France.
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Regulation/Folic-acid-Old-women-and-children-first

Nutrients 2009, 1(1), 18-29; doi:10.3390/nu1010018

Effects of Maté Tea Intake on ex Vivo LDL Peroxidation Induced by Three Different Pathways

Ruth Lobato T. Matsumoto 1 , Simone Mendonça 2 , Daniela Moura de Oliveira 1 , Marina F. Souza 1  and Deborah H. Markowicz Bastos 1,* 
1 Nutrition Department, School of Public Health, University of São Paulo. Av Dr Arnaldo, 715, 01246-904. São Paulo – SP, Brazil
2 Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, AGROENERGIA. Parque Estação Biológica - PqEB s/n Asa Norte 70770-901 EMBRAPA - Brasilia- DF, Brazil
Abstract: Yerba maté (Ilex paraguariensis) is a native South America plant widely consumed as different beverages. Yerba maté leaves contains high concentrations of polyphenols that are responsible for its high in vitro and in vivo antioxidant activity. The in vivo antioxidant properties vis a vis LDL particles has not yet been studied for maté tea, the roasted yerba maté product. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant activity of maté tea ingestion ex vivo on human LDL. Fasting peripheral venous blood samples of healthy women were taken in three different times: before drinking the tea, one hour later and after one week (7 days) of daily consumption of maté tea. The isolated LDL was oxidized by three different pathways [copper (CuSO4), lipoxygenase and peroxynitrite (SIN-1)]. Conjugated dienes and structural modifications on LDL were evaluated. Ingestion of maté tea increased LDL resistance towards ex vivo copper oxidation, but did not alter the peroxidation pattern when SIN-1 or lipoxygenase were used as oxidants
http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/1/1/18

Antioxidant-rich fruit, veg may prevent lymph cancers

Nutraingredients.com, 21-Aug-2009

Increased intakes of antioxidant-rich fruit and vegetables may reduce the risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma, says a new study from the Mayo Clinic
Intakes of vitamin C, alpha-carotene, and proanthocyanidins were associated with reductions in the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma of 22, 29, and 30 percent, respectively, according to findings published in the International Journal of Cancer.
From a food perspective the researchers, led by Dr James Cerhan, report that yellow/ orange and cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli, were found to confer the greatest risk reductions.
However, despite identifying individual nutrients, Dr Cerhan and his co-workers noted that the benefits would most likely be from dietary sources of antioxidants, and not from supplements.
“Most studies have not shown an association with supplemental intake of antioxidant nutrients, suggesting that any association is likely to be mediated through foods,” they wrote.
“This has mechanistic implications (potential synergies between antioxidants; other anti-carcinogenic compounds in these foods) and also suggests that prevention approaches will likely need to be targeted towards foods and food groups and not individual nutrients, particularly taken as supplements.”
Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) is a cancer that starts in the lymphatic system and encompasses about 29 different forms of lymphoma. According to the American Cancer Society, over 50,000 new cases are diagnosed in the US every year.
Study details
In collaboration with scientists from the University of Minnesota, the Mayo Clinic researchers examined data from 35,159 Iowa women aged between 55 and 69 participating in the Iowa women's health study. Diets were analyzed using a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire.
Over 20 years of follow-up, a total of 415 cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma were documented. Intakes of 204 or more servings per month (about 7 servings per day) of all fruit and vegetables were associated with a 31 percent reduction in NHL risk, compared to intakes of less than 104 servings per month.
High intakes of yellow/orange vegetables (14 or more servings of per month) were associated with a risk reduction of 28 percent, as were four or more broccoli servings per month, compared to people who are no broccoli.
Considering the nutrients, in addition to the risk reductions associated with increased intakes of vitamin C, alpha-carotene, and proanthocyanidins, increased intakes of manganese from dietary sources was also associated with a risk reduction of about 40 per cent.
“To our knowledge, an inverse association with manganese has not been previously evaluated for NHL, and thus this will require replication,” they wrote.“Foods rich in manganese include whole grains, nuts, and leafy vegetables. However, we observed no clear association with foods that are major sources of manganese.”
Supplements have no effect
Cerhan and his co-workers reported no links between multivitamin use, or supplemental intake of vitamins C, E, selenium, zinc, copper or manganese.
“These results support a role for vegetables and perhaps fruits, and associatedantioxidants from food sources, as protective factors against the development of NHL and follicular lymphoma in particular,” they concluded.
Source: International Journal of Cancer
Accepted Article, available online
“Antioxidant intake from fruits, vegetables and other sources and risk of non-hodgkin lymphoma: The Iowa women's health study”
Authors: C.A. Thompson, T.M. Habermann, A.H. Wang, R.A. Vierkant, A.R. Folsom, J.A. Ross, J.R. Cerhan
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Science-Nutrition/Antioxidant-rich-fruit-veg-may-prevent-lymph-cancers

Chronic Kidney Disease Linked To Malfunctioning Mitochondria

ScienceDaily (Aug. 23, 2009) — Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been linked to oxidative stress caused by dysregulation of the genes that control mitochondria. A study in the open access journal BMC Genomics has revealed alterations in respiration gene expression in the white blood cells of CKD patients.
Gianluigi Zaza and Simona Granata, from the Renal Unit of University of Bari, Italy, led a team of researchers who carried out the genomic tests. Zaza said, "Our results suggest, for the first time, that CKD patients may have an impaired mitochondrial respiratory system and this condition may be both the consequence and the cause of enhanced oxidative stress".
The researchers found 44 genes that were up-regulated in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of CKD patients, compared to normal controls. Of these, 11 were genes were involved in the oxidative phosphorylation system. Further tests revealed that the levels reactive oxygen species (ROS) were significantly higher in the CKD group.
Zaza and his colleagues suggest that these species are part of a vicious circle of respiration dysregulation that ultimately results in CKD. "Our hypothesis is that an increased production of ROS, due to the effect of pro-inflammatory mediators, may cause a profound inhibition of the oxidative phosphorylation system leading to a compensatory 'hypertrophy' of its components. In addition, a hypertrophic and impaired oxidative phosphorylation system may prime a vicious circle, causing a continuous release of ROS," he said.
Simona Granata, Gianluigi Zaza, Simona Simone, Gaetano Villani, Dominga Latorre, Paola Pontrelli, Massimo Carella, Francesco PAOLO Schena, Giuseppe Grandaliano and Giovanni Pertosa. Mitochondrial dysregulation and oxidative stress in patients with chronic kidney disease. BMC Genomics, 2009; 10 (1): 388 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-10-388
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090820204452.htm

Epigenetics: Evolutionarily Preserved Mechanism Governs Use Of Genes

ScienceDaily (Aug. 23, 2009) — Researchers at Uppsala University have found that the protein coding parts of a gene are packed in special nucleosomes. The same type of packaging is found in the roundworm C elegans, which is a primeval relative of humans. The mechanism can thereby be traced back a billion years in time, according to the study presented in the journal Genome Research.
Human genes are packed in nucleosomes, which contain epigenetic signals directing how the genes are to be used. The cell nucleus contains DNA, which is wound around proteins to form units called nucleosomes, not unlike pearls on a string. Genes on average contain ten protein coding units called exons. Previously there was no known correlation between nucleosomes and exons . New results show that nucleosomes are placed over exons. This means that the area containing the protein code is packed in discrete units.
These results are presented by a research team at Uppsala University, led by Professor Claes Wadelius at the Department of Genetics and Pathology and Professor Jan Komorowski at the Linnaeus Centre for Bioinformatics as well as University of Warsaw.
Epigenetics is a cellular memory which identifies a cell's identity and way to respond to the environment. Epigenetic signals control genes in a flexible manner. Each genetic package, or pearl on the string, has an epigenetic signal indicating how active it is. In the present study it was shown that there is a previously undiscovered epigenetic mark on protein coding parts of the gene.
"A gene can be read in several ways and create different proteins. We have now demonstrated that there is an epigenetic control that determines which parts of the gene that are read," says Claes Wadelius.
The study is based on extremely large amounts of data published by other scientists, but not previously analyzed in such detail.
"Our findings show the value of sophisticated bioinformatic analyses and the need to delve deeper into the gigantic amounts of data from modern biological research," says Jan Komorowski.
The scientists also show that the same type of genetic packaging exists in the tiny roundworm C elegans. Humans are related to this worm through a common ancestor that lived a billion years ago. This means that the mechanism has been evolutionarily preserved during nearly one fourth of the time the earth has existed eller one fourth of earth's existence. In humans, the genetic code has been divided into smaller parts that fit into the individual packages or pearls.
"This enables a gene to be used in several different ways. This has probably contributed to human development," concludes Professor Claes Wadelius.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090818130420.htm

How We Support Our False Beliefs

ScienceDaily (Aug. 23, 2009) — In a study published in the most recent issue of the journal Sociological Inquiry, sociologists from four major research institutions focus on one of the most curious aspects of the 2004 presidential election: the strength and resilience of the belief among many Americans that Saddam Hussein was linked to the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
Although this belief influenced the 2004 election, they claim it did not result from pro-Bush propaganda, but from an urgent need by many Americans to seek justification for a war already in progress.
The findings may illuminate reasons why some people form false beliefs about the pros and cons of health-care reform or regarding President Obama's citizenship, for example.
The study, "There Must Be a Reason: Osama, Saddam and Inferred Justification" calls such unsubstantiated beliefs "a serious challenge to democratic theory and practice" and considers how and why it was maintained by so many voters for so long in the absence of supporting evidence.
Co-author Steven Hoffman, Ph.D., visiting assistant professor of sociology at the University at Buffalo, says, "Our data shows substantial support for a cognitive theory known as 'motivated reasoning,' which suggests that rather than search rationally for information that either confirms or disconfirms a particular belief, people actually seek out information that confirms what they already believe.
"In fact," he says, "for the most part people completely ignore contrary information.
"The study demonstrates voters' ability to develop elaborate rationalizations based on faulty information," he explains.
While numerous scholars have blamed a campaign of false information and innuendo from the Bush administration, this study argues that the primary cause of misperception in the 9/11-Saddam Hussein case was not the presence or absence of accurate data but a respondent's desire to believe in particular kinds of information.
"The argument here is that people get deeply attached to their beliefs," Hoffman says.
"We form emotional attachments that get wrapped up in our personal identity and sense of morality, irrespective of the facts of the matter. The problem is that this notion of 'motivated reasoning' has only been supported with experimental results in artificial settings. We decided it was time to see if it held up when you talk to actual voters in their homes, workplaces, restaurants, offices and other deliberative settings."
The survey and interview-based study was conducted by Hoffman, Monica Prasad, Ph.D., assistant professor of sociology at Northwestern University; Northwestern graduate students Kieren Bezila and Kate Kindleberger; Andrew Perrin, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; and UNC graduate students Kim Manturuk, Andrew R. Payton and Ashleigh Smith Powers (now an assistant professor of political science and psychology at Millsaps College).
The study addresses what it refers to as a "serious challenge to democratic theory and practice that results when citizens with incorrect information cannot form appropriate preferences or evaluate the preferences of others."
One of the most curious "false beliefs" of the 2004 presidential election, they say, was a strong and resilient belief among many Americans that Saddam Hussein was linked to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Hoffman says that over the course of the 2004 presidential campaign, several polls showed that majorities of respondents believed that Saddam Hussein was either partly or largely responsible for the 9/11 attacks, a percentage that declined very slowly, dipping below 50 percent only in late 2003.
"This misperception that Hussein was responsible for the Twin Tower terrorist attacks was very persistent, despite all the evidence suggesting that no link existed," Hoffman says.
The study team employed a technique called "challenge interviews" on a sample of voters who reported believing in a link between Saddam and 9/11. The researchers presented the available evidence of the link, along with the evidence that there was no link, and then pushed respondents to justify their opinion on the matter. For all but one respondent, the overwhelming evidence that there was no link left no impact on their arguments in support of the link.
One unexpected pattern that emerged from the different justifications that subjects offered for continuing to believe in the validity of the link was that it helped citizens make sense of the Bush Administration's decision to go to war against Iraq.
"We refer to this as 'inferred justification,'" says Hoffman "because for these voters, the sheer fact that we were engaged in war led to a post-hoc search for a justification for that war.
"People were basically making up justifications for the fact that we were at war," he says.
"One of the things that is really interesting about this, from both the perspective of voting patterns but also for democratic theory more generally, Hoffman says, "is that we did not find that people were being duped by a campaign of innuendo so much as they were actively constructing links and justifications that did not exist.
"They wanted to believe in the link," he says, "because it helped them make sense of a current reality. So voters' ability to develop elaborate rationalizations based on faulty information, whether we think that is good or bad for democratic practice, does at least demonstrate an impressive form of creativity."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090821135020.htm

Homes Pollute: Linked To 50 Percent More Water Pollution Than Previously Believed

ScienceDaily (Aug. 21, 2009) — They say there's no place like home. But scientists are reporting some unsettling news about homes in the residential areas of California. The typical house there — and probably elsewhere in the country — is an alarming and probably underestimated source of water pollution, according to a new study reported at the 238th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.
In the study, Lorence Oki, Darren Haver and colleagues explain that runoff results from rainfall and watering of lawns and gardens, which winds up in municipal storm drains. The runoff washes fertilizers, pesticides and other contaminants into storm drains, and they eventually appear in rivers, lakes and other bodies of water.
"Results from our sampling and monitoring study revealed high detection frequencies of pollutants such as pesticides and pathogen indicators at all sites," Oki says of their study of eight residential areas in Sacramento and Orange Counties in California.
Preliminary results of the study suggest that current models may underestimate the amount of pollution contributed by homes by up to 50 percent. That's because past estimates focused on rain-based runoff during the wet season. "Use of pesticides, however, increases noticeably during the dry season due to gardening, and our data contains greater resolution than previous studies," Oki says.
Pollutants detected in outdoor runoff included ant-control pesticide products. Previous surveys have shown that the majority of pesticides purchased by homeowners are used to control ants. To encourage pollutant reduction, the researchers initiated community outreach programs centered on improving both irrigation control and pest management.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090819110008.htm

A Real Reason to Boycott Whole Foods?

Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews.com  August 24, 2009 

(NaturalNews) Whole Foods is in a public relations crisis. After its CEO John Mackey posted a widely-read opinion piece that insisted Americans have no intrinsic right to health care, it was slammed with angry liberal customers who picketed stores and organized a national Whole Foods boycott at a Facebook page now numbering over 26,000 members (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?g...).

Whole Foods customers are angry at the upscale retailer over the position of its CEO on health care reform, but I can think of a much better reason to avoid shopping at Whole Foods: The store sells a whole lot of junk products.

Those aren't my words; they're the words of CEO John Mackey, who admitted this during a discussion about how Whole Foods might improve its product offerings ((http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/...)).

The last time I was in the U.S., I shopped at Whole Foods because it was the best option for convenient health food. But even then, I noticed a whole lot of "junk" being sold by the store: Foods made with yeast extract (a hidden form of MSG), loads of processed pastries, fried snack chips and all sorts of other products I wouldn't dare let touch my lips. Let's face it: If you walk around Whole Foods and read the ingredients, you'll be more than a little shocked to find out how much unhealthy stuff the store actually offers.

But even this isn't the No. 1 reason to stop shopping at Whole Foods. The real reason is because Whole Foods takes most of the profit on the products it sells, leaving vendors frustrated and often just barely scraping by. I know this because I have personal behind-the-scenes conversations with the owners of many companies who sell products through Whole Foods, and most of them quietly tell me behind closed doors that they are extremely frustrated with Whole Foods purchasing and payment policies. The markups are often quite ridiculous, requiring a health product manufacturer to cheapen their ingredients and water down their formulas just to be able to get their products into Whole Foods at a retail price (after the W.F. markup) that consumers can tolerate.

Superfoods: Buy direct!

That's why many of the very best superfood products available today aren't available in Whole Foods stores and never will be. Living Fuel, one of my favorite superfood products (www.LivingFuel.com) will probably never be seen on a Whole Foods shelf. Why? Because the ingredients are premium, and that means premium cost for the raw materials. There simply isn't enough room in the pricing on Living Fuel to squeeze out 50% (or so) for Whole Foods to mark it up.

Boku Superfood is a similar story (www.BokuSuperfood.com). It's only sold directly to customers through the Boku website. (They may even have a few free samples of Boku newly available at www.FreeBoku.com if you want to check that out...) Because of the quality and cost of the ingredients in this formula, there's simply no room for an additional 50% markup unless the retail prices are raised to compensate.

In all, if you look at superfood products at Whole Foods, they simply do not represent the best value for your dollar. The Whole Foods overhead adds a lot of cost to the final price, and that money isn't going to the vendor.

Now, you could reasonably argue that Whole Foods is providing a nice shopping environment, with clean produce aisles, and good signage (sometimes), and a great selection. Yes, all those things are true. It costs money for the building, the inventory, the employees and even the parking lot. But for someone only wanting the best value in great nutrition, they don't need all that stuff. They just need an honest, high-quality product at a fair price, without the middle man markup. And you get that from buying direct.

Pure Synergy, for example, (www.TheSynergyCompany.com) is my No. 1 top recommended food-based multivitamin. I've never seen them in Whole Foods and don't expect to. The Whole Foods markup would make their vitamins seem outrageously expensive. So it's better to just buy them directly from The Synergy Company at a fair price for a super high-quality product.

Dr. Jameth Sheridan's amazing superfood products (www.HealthForce.com) are also not represented in Whole Foods, at least the last time I was there. His products are just too high-end in nature, and they're priced close to the actual production costs, so there's just not enough room in the profit margins to hand over 50% to Whole Foods (or whatever the actual amount is these days).

So when it comes to vitamins and superfoods, I recommend you avoid Whole Foods and just buy directly from the manufacturers as much as possible.

Whole Foods produce and the real story on farmers...

The real kicker here is found in Whole Foods produce. Keep in mind that I grow most of my own food in Vilcabamba, Ecuador for next to nothing. Every day I have fresh, organic kale, celery, carrots, cucumbers, raspberries, figs and over 80 different kinds of produce that are growing in my own garden right now at the Hacienda San Joaquin.

The last time I walked into Whole Foods and saw the prices they were asking for organic avocados, carrots and broccoli, I just about dropped my jaw on the floor. Paying $4 for an organic avocado seems like thievery to me, especially when I can pick a basket of fifty off the tree in my back yard in Ecuador for free!

When you look at the pricing for Whole Foods produce, it just makes you shudder. Why is all this stuff so expensive?

Here's the (disturbing) answer: Because a whole lot of it comes from very far away, and it's grown, packaged and distributed by big food corporationsthat are far from the idyllic family farm fairy tales often described to us. Sure, Whole Foods stores include local produce from time to time, but if you're going to buy local produce, why not just buy it from the farmer who grew it?

Community Supported Agriculture

This leads me to the subject of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). See this website to learn all about it: http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

CSA allows you, the consumer, to purchase a "share" in a local farm, where your up-front money allows them to buy seeds, plant the produce, harvest it and make it available directly to you. To get involved, you buy a share or a portion of a share (which might cost a few hundred dollars) of a local CSA during the winter months, well before planting begins. Throughout the food production season (which could last 20 weeks or more, depending on your geography), you get a crate of fresh, organic produce that you pick up each week from a local food coop. You don't get to pick and choose what you want each week; you simply get your fair share of whatever's ready for harvest that week (the way nature intended, see?)

What's so brilliant about this system is that it directly supports local farmers without the ridiculously expensive and bureaucrat process of going through someone like Whole Foods. Because, let's face it: If you really want whole foods, you don't really need Whole Foods. What you actually need is a share in a local CSA.

So find a local CSA right now: http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

It many regions, all the available shares are already sold out for 2010, so if you're interested in getting a share for next year, jump on it now, well ahead of the coming winter.

Once you're in a CSA and getting fresh produce each week, you can still shop at Whole Foods, of course, but you will rarely need to buy fresh produce at W.F. prices (which might better be described as "W.T.F. prices"). Instead, you can use Whole Foods more sparingly to purchase only those things you simply can't get locally: organic mustard, balsamic vinegar, brown rice, and maybe even those ever-so-tempting yogurt-covered pretzels made with evaporate cane juice.

Farmers and consumers: The great divide

In essence, I'm not really saying you should boycott Whole Foods, only that if you're buying fresh produce from Whole Foods, you're not only over-paying -- you're also financially feeding a big corporate system of food acquisition and distribution that's unnatural and often non-local. Much of the money you pay for that produce doesn't even get into the hands of the farmers who grew your food in the first place. And this is a great disconnectbecause it isolates consumers from farmers.

In a happy world, the people who eat food should always know the farmers who grow it. When consumers get separated from farmers through big, profit-focused corporations like Monsanto, ADM or even Whole Foods, some really nasty things start to happen to the quality of the food as well as the intention behind it. When farmers are selling their food to real people, they care a lot more about its quality. But when they're selling to some big, evil corporation that only pays them a pittance for all their hard work, quality often gets thrown out the window and it's all about maximizing production quantity at the expense of quality.

There are some exceptions to this, I know, but as a general rule the more distant you get from the farmers, the lower the nutritional quality of your food becomes. Processed food products, for example, are nutritionally empty and at the same time no one knows where any of their ingredients really come from or who grew them (or even what they're made of in the first place!).

That's why I strongly support "country of origin" labeling requirements for all produce sold in the U.S. If we knew where the stuff came from, we would have much more information to use in our consumer decision-making processes. In other words: Should I buy the 59-cent apples grown with toxic pesticides in Mexico, or the two-dollar apples grown organically but air-freighted in from Japan?

Boycott Whole Foods?

In conclusion, I'm not actually supporting the current effort to boycott Whole Foods based on the statement of its CEO on health care reform because, in my view, that's a very minor part of the bigger Whole Foods picture. If I were to boycott Whole Foods, it would probably be about its use of yeast extract or the ridiculous prices on its fresh produce shipped in from Central and South America while burning up fossil fuels during all the trucking miles.

But we don't have to boycott Whole Foods to get our message across. All we have to really do is change our purchasing behavior.

Vote with your dollars, folks. Join a CSA. Visit your local farmers' markets or food co-ops. If you have a little land, grow some portion of your own diet on it (you can't get more local than that!). Buy your eggs from local chicken ranches, get your goat's milk from a local goat ranch, and vary your diet by the season so that you're in tune with the natural food production that Mother Nature has intended for your geographic region.

Do these things and you don't need to spend time boycotting Whole Foods. Just change your actions and bypass Whole Foods by purchasing directly from farmers and nutritional supplement companies that produce the products you wish to consume.

This is the model for sustainable agriculture in our world: People buying directly from farmers. People getting to know their farmers and learning to respect them. People doing business with People, not corporations.

The more you understand about food, the more you'll come to recognize the daily miracles being pulled off right now by farmers living within one hundred miles of where you live. They are keeping you alive, and now you have an opportunity to help keep them alive and in business by joining a CSA.
http://www.naturalnews.com/026906_food_foods_whole_foods.html

Chemotherapy Treatment of Children Multiplies Risk of Cancer Later in Life

David Gutierrez, NaturalNews.com  August 24, 2009 

(NaturalNews) Adults who underwent chemotherapy as children are at a significantly higher risk of developing cancer as adults, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Institute of Cancer Epidemiology in Copenhagen, Denmark, and published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Researchers examined the medical histories of 47,679 people from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden who had been diagnosed with cancer before the age of 20 between the years of 1943 and 2005. They found that those diagnosed with a childhood cancer ran three times the risk of developing cancer in adulthood as an adult of the same generation who had not had cancer as a child. This elevated risk held strong even into old age.

The generation most likely to develop second cancers was that diagnosed between 1975 and 2005, followed by those diagnosed between 1960 and 1975 or those diagnosed before 1970. Because the doses used in radiation treatment have steadily decreased over the years, while chemotherapytreatment has become steadily more aggressive, the researchers concluded that childhood chemotherapy is the most likely culprit for the increased risk of adult cancers.

"What we need now is two-fold: new treatment ideas to decrease the risk of later effects, and much better surveillance of childhood cancer survivors during adulthood," lead researcher Jorgen Olsen said. "Cancer treatments don't just increase the risk of other cancers, but can lead to all sorts of other problems -- from cardiovascular to reproductive." 

Pediatric oncologist James Nicholson of Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge agreed that survivors of childhood cancers need to be carefully monitored for new cancers throughout their lifetimes.

"A study like this does raise awareness of the problem," he said. "If it means alarm bells ring earlier when there are symptoms in people who were treated for cancer as a child that would be a very good thing."
http://www.naturalnews.com/026905_cancer_chemotherapy_cancers.html

Breast Cancer Discovery: Vitamin A Derivative Normalizes Cell Growth

S. L. Baker, NaturalNews.com  August 24, 2009 

(NaturalNews) What if a substance was found that normalizes out-of-control cell growth? The result could be a way to treat and prevent cancer. And a new study offers hope that discovery may have already been made. Scientists from the University of Chicago have just published groundbreaking research in the journal Cell which concludes a powerful compound exists that can restore a healthy balance to cell processes. It's not a new chemotherapy agent or drug but one derived from nature -- retinoic acid, a derivative of vitamin A. 

According to the American Cancer Society, estrogen fuels the growth of two out of three breast cancers. The female hormone can spur on cancer by altering the expression of certain genes, resulting in breast cells that become malignant and proliferate. The University of Chicago study found that retinoic acid can also alter these same estrogen-sensitive genes. But instead of causing cells to grow without restraint, a hallmark of cancer, retinoic acid restored normal balance to the cells and inhibited their growth. 

"This work reveals important insights on the interplay between vitamin A and estrogen action," said Myles Brown, MD, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, in a statement to the media. "These insights will hopefully lead to new approaches for the prevention and treatment of the most common form of breast cancer."

Retinoic acid has already demonstrated cancer fighting effects in previous studies and it is currently used to treat a rare form of leukemia. In addition, earlier research has associated retinoic acid with the halting of breast cancer cell proliferation. 

For the new study, Kevin White, PhD, professor of human genetics and director of the Institute for Genomics and System Biology at the University of Chicago, and colleagues focused on documenting cell receptors for the vitamin A derivative. They used a process dubbed ChIP-chip analysis that combines chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), which locates where the retinoic acid receptors are bound to the genome, with micro-array gene-chip analysis, which measures the expression levels of specific genes. 

This merging of techniques allowed the scientists to map out the complete genetic effects of retinoic acid and its receptors in a cell line provided by patients who had estrogen-fueled breast cancers. The results showed that 39 percent of the genomic regions bound by the estrogen receptor known as alpha overlapped with the estrogen receptors bound by retinoic acid.

What's more, they discovered that estrogen and retinoic acids receptors often competed to activate or repress many of the same genes. For example, estrogen increased expression of the same 139 genes that retinoic repressed and retinoic acid activated 185 genes that estrogen repressed. For approximately140 genes, estrogen and retinoic acid had the same effect.

So what does all this mean? As the scientists explained in their press statement, they now have evidence that estrogen and retinoic acid carry on a kind of "cross talk". So, although they can have opposite effects, certain estrogen and retinoic acid receptors on cells activate each other and normalize each other. That provides what the researchers call "an additional level of control for achieving a balanced regulation of expression."

The study also uncovered another way retinoic acid could help fight breast cancer. Some of the genes that are expressed in malignant breast tumors don't have estrogen receptors so anti-estrogen drugs can't be used as therapies. That makes so-called double or triple negative breast cancers extremely difficult to treat and, subsequently, they carry poor prognoses. However, in the new study, the researchers found these forms of cancerous cells did respond positively to the vitamin A derivative.

The new study may have produced a new way to help predict long-term survival for breast cancer patients, too. When the researchers compared the effects of retinoic acid on tissues from 295 breast cancer patients with the results from the scientists' initial study using a typical breast cancer cell line, they discovered that the more strongly a tumor responded to retinoic acid, the greater the chances of long-term survival and a lack of relapse.

"Understanding all the components of this process could be used against breast cancer in three ways," said Dr. White, in the media statement. "It suggests new ways to think about preventing the disease in those at high risk. It offers molecular tools that could provide a more precise diagnosis and predict outcomes. It could also be used to enhance current therapies, making existing drugs, such as tamoxifen, that selectively block estrogen's effects even more powerful, or even to develop new anti-cancer drugs."

As reported earlier in Natural News (http://www.naturalnews.com/025495_c...), researchers are also studying vitamin D to see what role it may play in fighting breast cancer. It appears to help protect against breast cancer by keeping normal cell growth in check.
http://www.naturalnews.com/026901_cancer_brst_cancer_Retinoic_acid.html

Fatness can lead to 'brain shrinkage'

TIMES OF INDIA  24 August 2009
A new study from University of California in Los Angeles suggests that piling on the pounds can shrink brains of older people, making them more vulnerable to cognitive problems. 

According to Paul Thompson, brains of elderly obese people looked 16 years older than the brains of leaner peers. 

The research involving 94 people in their 70s showed that people with higher body mass indexes had smaller brains on average, with the frontal and temporal lobes - important for planning and memory, respectively - particularly affected. 

While no one knows whether these people are more likely to develop dementia, a smaller brain is indicative of destructive processes that can develop into dementia. 

The team also found that the brains of the 51 overweight people were 6 per cent smaller than those of their normal-weight counterparts, on average, and those of the 14 obese people were 8 per cent smaller. 

"The brains of overweight people looked eight years older than the brains of those who were lean, and 16 years older in obese people," New Scientist quoted Thompson as saying. 

Thompson suggests that as increased body fat ups the chances of having clogged arteries, which can reduce blood and oxygen flow to brain cells, the resulting reduction in metabolism could cause brain cell death and the shrinking seen. 

He said that exercise protects the very brain regions that had shrunk. 

"The most strenuous kind of exercise can save about the same amount of brain tissue that is lost in the obese," he said. 

The findings appear in journal Human Brain Mapping.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health/Fatness-can-lead-to-brain-shrinkage/articleshow/4927664.cms

Now, a new treatment for spinal injuries

TIMES OF INDIA   22 August 2009
A doctor and a bio-technologist from Kerala have come up with an alternative treatment for patients with critical spinal injuries and are now  awaiting clearance from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to conduct human trials.
P.S. John, an orthopaedist, and C.S. Poulose, a bio-technologist, claim to have successfully conducted trials on rats and rabbits at the department of neurosciences at the Cochin University of Science and Technology from 2002 to 2008. 

John, who retired as head of the department of orthopaedics from the Kottayam Medical College, said: "We have developed a treatment protocol where one's own bone marrow cells and neurotransmitter (a hormone like chemical messenger that carries impulses from one nerve cell to the other) will be injected to the patient. Depending on the nature of injury, the injection could last a month or for 12 months." 

The laboratory tests were done under the supervision of Poulose, who is director of neurosciences at the university. 

Their work has by now been presented at many international conferences and is accepted for publication in Current Science. 

The study team has already secured a patent on their technique in the country. 

Elaborating on the new method, John said: "Since we are using the patient's own bone marrow, no ethical issues are involved. Moreover there will be no chance of adverse reactions or rejection reactions. The neurotransmitter combination that is used to modulate the bone marrow is naturally occurring amines in our system and hence will not produce any untoward effects." 

The study team has secured written consent from hundreds of patients willing to undergo the clinical trials using the new technique. 

Speaking to IANS, 27-year-old George K. Thomas, who has been bed-ridden after a road accident in 2007, said: "I have tried various treatments and there is no change. I am prepared to go through the clinical trials of this new technique. I really wish they get the sanction for the trials."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health/Now-a-new-treatment-for-spinal-injuries/articleshow/4922259.cms